The week before that was spent canvassing my options. I funneled it down to 8 different hosting companies, emailing and chatting trying to get the best deal, reading and re-reading their offers to see through sales – speak and hidden charges only to in the end, end up with what looked like one of my most affordable options without giving up specs I required, but it turns out it had a renewal cost next year that will be nearly twice the sign up cost I just paid. This means if they don’t give a better option before my contract lapses I’ll be doing this again next year.

But I don’t mind you know why?

may naponood ako ww2 documentary recently and they interviewed a lady survivor of the concentration camps. She told the story of regular Wehrmacht soldiers separating her from her siblings and parents when she was little and seeing their shoes and luggage beside a pile of burnt bodies later amongst a long list of indescribable atrocities.

When asked if she could share what she learned if any, it was that ‘the only thing cruelty needs is permission.’

It did not impact me at the time but what she was saying was this – the only thing murderers need is to be told it’s ok to kill. This explains why ordinary Germans at the time – Teachers, Farmers, Regular people off the street once enlisted were able to carry out murders on thousands of non militant civilians from babies to elderly with zero guilt. They don’t need to have had childhood trauma. They don’t need to ‘feel empty inside’ or some similar internal pain that would explain bloodlust. They don’t need to have experienced some religious or otherwise spiritual emergence.

All they needed was the top guy to tell them it’s ok. Hence:

Duterte: “Ako ang bahala sa inyo. I will take responsibility for you. Lahat na gawin ninyo sa utos ko, akin iyan, ako ang magpakulong.”

JD Vance: “(you are) protected by absolute immunity. (you) cannot be prosecuted for actions taken during federal duties.”

THIS is why we need laws. THIS is why laws need to be extra and almost excessively discussed and crafted over and over, and THIS is why extra care is needed when implementing them as well.

Because apparently it’s so easy to give people the agency to take another life. Sabihan mo lang na ‘ako bahala sa yo’ ok na yun. Sure there will be ones with the moral voice enough to say no, but I know people personally who will not hesiate to do exactly that if it would have no consequences.

And if you can take a life easily, everything else below that should be easy. Would it make sense if a person is willing to kill but not steal? Of course not. Once you are allowed the worst of crimes you are now open to a vast array of criminal activities that can keep you busy for the rest of your life.

• As much as I want to say it’s finally the year of the Ubuntu desktop, which has been foretold for decades, it’s definitely not true. I’ve had some problems that only a devotee can fix, and in fact my PC isn’t completely fixed yet (the $&*MF(@# second monitor won’t work). I mean sure I’ll fix it at some point, but can the ordinary person who finds Windows challenging enough fix them? Absolutely no way in ever the forever.
• If this isn’t the year of Desktop Linux then, what year would it be? It’s absolutely, imo, the year of the MacOS. For the first time in my life, I am suggesting to my wife that she buy a new 14″ Mac Air for her next laptop. Not that I think Apple’s great – it is too cloaked by Mac fanatic devotee opinion to be judged properly, but it’s because I hate Windows and what it has become. I think I’m not the only one that thinks this.
• Note that I used to love Windows, especially 10. The whole point of an Operating System is to get out of your way so that you can do your work and that is what 7 then 10 used to be. It was absolutely marvelous. I could install, set it up and get productive within the day. It used to be a no brainer.
• Used to be being the operative words. Win10 started ads, which was a tolerable nuisance. But 11, now with CoPilot, is an absolute nightmare both to work with an as a privacy concern. Whereas once you can use it without making an account, or create an account offline, MS has made it impossible and you are now required to make an MS account whether you want or need one.
• I was first made aware of Windows 11 ‘Recall’ feature mid last year, which takes snapshots of user activity every few seconds purportedly to train it’s AI to help you ‘do your job better’, notwithstanding the fact that taking pics of your desktop is an outrageous privacy nightmare. They later allowed disabling, but what value is that to a company that invested time and money to make these features in the first place? Clearly they want it on to record you, and they even set up AI Gaming CoPilot that records screenshots, voice and text during gameplay AFTER, in spite of resistance to CoPilot AI and the Recall feature.
• At this point you’ve got to use your head. It isn’t the fact they allow disabling it or issue a series of Press Releases saying how much they value your privacy etc., it’s about why would they make that in the first place. Wouldn’t a company with any semblance of human dignity, autonomy and personal security even think twice about creating such things?
• Most recently they’ve disabled enabling Windows over the phone, and insist it only be allowed online. I think that’s the final nail on the coffin which directly attacks pirated copies which take up imo the most number of users out there.
• Thing is, I can rant and rave but MS couldn’t care less about individual home or small business users. I know several large companies and government offices that will and have already authorized purchasing Win11 updates already well entrenched in their budget a year before. Their IT staff neither has an opinion or if they do have no voice in any decision making as far as Windows is concerned because there is no alternative. Do you think IT will endorse people to start using Ubuntu? Or even Libreoffice as an alternative to MS Office? That just means extra customer support for them and why in the world would they want that.
• If it sounds like I’m saying that most companies’ including public offices security is at risk because of Windows 11’s heinous privacy issues, you are right because that’s exactly what I’m saying. Most people just want to print their reports and go back to secretly surfing for gambling, showbiz, or nba sites during office hours. They have no idea nor would they care or know what to do if MS is siphoning their data to feed their useless AI.

That’s it for now. I wanted to talk about my issues with Ubuntu but it became a Windows rant instead. I won’t mince words – I miss Windows. I miss the speed and ease of use, they keyboard shortcuts – albeit I’ve learned a bunch of new ones with Ubuntu now, and I miss Photoshop most of all. Yes the Linux faithful will tell me I can make it run on ubuntu but I haven’t been able to as of yet. Like I said I’m confident i can make it work, sure, but the fact I have to spend an hour or two to do so sucks.

High street locations – There are locations around cities where people hunt for these things. They are very posh, very nice areas like BGC or Makati, they attract high end restaurants, have lots of human traffic and charge rent by the millions of pesos. If the top brands are exposed to have less value, the market may think twice, sales may go down, shops will close and the glitter of high street get tarnished. Jobs will surely be affected and the local economy around these as well.

The rich and pretentious – Truly moneyed people will see a 150% markup as a better opportunity to flaunt their wealth. Nothing says you’re rich more than buying a bag everyone knows is now thousands of times more expensive after the tariffs. It’s important though that the brands make a POST TARIFF version of their products to distinguish it from the PRE TARIFF models, which would be cheaper. Brand vloggers and their kind who know these things will make content to make sure everyone knows, making the people who lust after these things even more envious, achieving their goal.

The poor and pretentious – The ones who have had to take out mortgages to buy these will truly suffer. Now, none of their friends and relatives at Sunday church are going to be impressed with their pre tariff bags because they’re considered a scam. You will look like a sucker, and worse they can’t afford the post tariff models. They’re going to have to find new ways to gain the respect they’re trying to buy. It truly sucks to be poor.

The quality conscious – These people will gain the most. The video I reference in this image is of the Chinese manufacturer explaining where they source the leather (Germany, France, Italy), the stainless steel (will never tarnish or rust), the glue, the lining, the stitching, the workmanship is all world class, all top notch. You will be hard put to find a better bag, and it is possibly the best most well made, most high quality bag you may ever own, now available to you at less than a tenth of the cost after its branded.

The timing – Obviously the Chinese government instructed these manufacturers to make these videos, which is the only explanation why so many of them, the makers of Nike, Adidas, Ugg, etc. were published almost at the same time. I’m still wondering about the pros and cons of this to their economy, the manufacturers themselves and the global market as a whole.

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The 2nd reason is just as important. Weaponized social media has done tremendous damage to governments and societies all over the world, one of the most damaging indications of which here is the rise of apologists. Time does enough damage on its own, but fake news and malevolent disinformation has helped it a million times over.

So the fact that schools big and small have decided to take a stand is incredibly refreshing. One of the schools I never thought would join announced they would this morning and I am beyond surprised. I thought they had turned or were at least apathetic. I know for a fact they have something to lose but here they are burning bridges. They have taken a stand and I am shaking my head in amazement.

This to me indicates that weaponizing social media, as evil and effective as it is, is possibly not as powerful as it was especially during the very dark mid 2010 period. I dare not hope, I’ve been burned far too many times. But please, let this be true. And please let the younger people ask why classes were canceled, and hopefully they will look up the reason and learn for themselves why this is important.

So, two thoughts:

1. While tremendously heroic and dangerous, so much as to make people want to sign up to become soldiers to do heroic acts themselves, you can’t help asking the inevitable question: why was ISIS allowed to become so powerful in that city to begin with? You might understand ISIS taking over a barangay but the whole city? And no one knew about it? They were armed to the teeth with powerful RPGs and anti tank weapons and had troops ready to sacrifice their lives in almost every large building. They booby trapped buildings, roads and bridges. Every government office, every hospital, ever business had to stop and either evacuate or be taken hostage. Christians were imprisoned or killed on the spot. Prominent Muslims leaders (the truly heroic people in this story) elected to stay at home to keep terrorists from invading it because they were hiding Christians in their basement, Terrorists wouldn’t touch them out of respect. Just like rich Germans hiding Jews in 1943. They risked getting shot at and had no power or water.
   
   3 or 4 army battalions, while well armed and trained for jungle fighting had zero experience and were poorly trained to fight in a city. They therefore suffered numerous casualties and had no access to necessary equipment. Even their camouflage uniforms was wrong for the purpose. While useful if surrounded by greenery, it made them stick out on a street. Duterte poured millions and millions into cash and benefits trying to keep them motivated into fighting a war that took so long and cost so much.
   
   So yes the soldiers were brave and courageous, truly worthy of their medals, but whoever dropped the ball in intelligence deserved to get shot.
   
2. The PNP says that body cameras aren’t fit for use in their job, and that ‘god can see and judge what they do anyway’, (or something like that). You know when someone is trying to hide or not deal with something when they invoke god in their reasoning. In any case, this is probably the best case for using a body cam that I have ever seen. Edited along with cameras around the area you get video and audio that is fit for a movie. So whatever the police are saying to avoid bodycams is clearly 100% BS. If these soldiers can wear them in an environment where you are being shot at by RPGs and AKs, they can wear them while doing regular police work.

I think the whole book is available via the link I posted above, but preferably please buy the book at national book store or amazon.

I remember thinking paano naman yung mga totoong lodi, yung those truly deserving of being an idol not to just one but to many.
Well today brings that thought to mind again because today nawalan tayo ng totoong LODI. Today Albert del Rosario died, and we have lost someone great. A true hero to the nation, a man that should be an example to all Filipinos. A TRUE ACTUAL LODI if there ever was one.

Here’s an excerpt from a 2013 Businessworld article from when he was DFA secretary in 2012:

‘Mr. del Rosario also showed an incredible bravery in protecting the lives of Filipinos abroad. Barely two days of being sworn into office, Mr. del Rosario traveled to Libya to extricate some 400 overseas Filipinos out of the war-torn city and bring them into the Libyan-Tunisian border. He risked his personal life several times thereafter, leading more repatriations of over 24,000 Filipinos in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt. From 2011 to 2015, the DFA had the chance to extend assistance to over 80,000 overseas Filipinos and members of their families.’

Full article here: https://www.bworldonline.com/features/2018/11/14/198989/the-selfless-servant/

Utang na loob, tiyak di lang hindi maibabalita ang kagalingan at pagka Bayani niya bagamat sisiraan pa siya, kasi aligned siya kay Noynoy, and we all know laganap ang fake news lalo na palapit na naman eleksyon.
Wala nang Mas pang pelikula ang buhay kesa sa kanya. Yung security guard na bumaril sa magnanakaw nagawan ng pelikula siya pa. He literally saved 24,000 lives.

Kung may kahit katiting na natitira ka pang tiwala sa galing ng Pilipino, at umaasa ka pa na kahit papano may matularan at matutunan pa ang mga kabataan, lalo na kung ano talaga ang ibig sabihin ng LODI, well here’s one right here.

YOU CANNOT GET ANY MORE HEROIC THAN SEC del ROSARIO. Please remember him and tell people about him. In this world of 24/7 Fake and Bad news he is truly the only Real and Good news around.

Surely this man rests in peace! No one has done more to deserve it!

Here’s a video I received this morning. It’s running now, with a ‘full wave’ 12v electrical system. When I asked the mechanic if it was normal now, he said it was ‘perfect’.

But before that, let’s go back with a thorough history.

Sometime 2021 during the Covid season I misplaced one of the boxes that contained several parts. To recall, I pushed the bike to a nearby motorcycle shop – one I trusted because they had fixed up my Blue EX3 very well. At some point the guy there more or less let it sit as he was waiting for help from his expert friend – and then Covid showed up and everything just stopped.

After things improved a bit, the mechanic had left that shop for who knows where, and I decided to give another guy a chance at getting it done. So one very rainy afternoon I drove my car to the motorcycle shop and me and another mechanic there put the boxes in the car while it was both raining and there was a chance I would get a ticket for illegal parking – I already had gotten one for the same spot in the past.

In the rush, I forgot one whole box of different parts. Hooray right?

That lone mechanic basically pinpointed two main problems. First, it wouldn’t shift properly. The clutch was rock stiff and it was so hard to put in the right gear, forget even finding neutral.

Second, the ignition coil would get super hot.

So he tried and tried to fix it, nada. At the same time he was busy with other bikes his boss was throwing at him, so I could see it wasn’t getting as much attention as it needed.

Added to that was the cylinder head leaked and seemed to be bad. He eventually fixed that, but it was a long and expensive process.

If I felt bad now, it was nowhere to how I felt back then. It just looked like I hit a wall. I had lost all confidence in the mechanic and his boss (especially his boss, who was completely unapologetic), so I was prepared to take it home and just park it until at least a solution would come along – and I had to be honest with myself – the chances of that were slim.

So anyway, here’s where I met Johnnie Lightning, who happened to put up a shop at a rented place that was a ten minute walk away. I literally introduced myself to him and started hanging out there, and brought my bike.

Johnnie as friendly as he was was mostly a body shop guy, focusing on welding jobs and cosmetic improvements. It turns out the mechanic he hired to get my bike fixed wasn’t as good either, so again, it sat.

Then, his lease on his shop’s address lapsed and he had to move. He found a place approximately 30 minutes via motorcycle from here, and there I met another guy, John of Johnny Cycles, another body shop. John was another great guy and he excitedly introduced me to Noy who owned JL Eight Motorcycle Shop, andspecialized in Honda Cubs, fixing an acquaintance’s bike in the past.

Noy is a very quiet, reserved and humble guy. Too quiet actually, and I’ll talk about that later. Anyway, he took in the bike, saw its problems and declared I’d have it back in a few weeks. It would start, but again the ignition coil was hot as hell and it was almost impossible to shift. This was November 2022. After that passed I clearly remember him reassuring me on Christmas Day that I would be driving it back home by the New Year.

Ok.

January he told me to source a new 2nd and 3rd gear, which were both very worn out:

I found new ones and he replaced them. I even made a video here:

Looks great, right? That was January 1, 2023.

Occasionally I would message him to ask what’s up on Facebook. He wouldn’t reply back. That’s what I meant about being too quiet.

I wasn’t in a hurry actually, but not getting updates riles me. Of course it does. It would anyone.

I visited end of January to say hello, he was busy with customers. He explains he tried the bike and it would shift now, but he noticed the ignition coil was super hot. I kept it to myself, but I remember telling him that when I brought it to him. I said ok please let me know what else you need, and if you can get it working by Feb that would be great. He agreed.

Mid February he asked me to buy two things: A new ignition key, as the old one’s contacts buried themselves deep in the rubber for some reason.

And also, a new 6v ignition coil.

After delivering them, another two weeks passed. Again, no responses when I messaged.

So finally I went there again sometime around March 1 or 3.

He was sitting outside his shop, and when I first saw him he said hello and he had been busy as he had just finished fixing a customer’s Kawasaki Z-1000.

I didn’t necessarily snap, but that really got to me.

It had been 5 months and the last thing I wanted to hear was that he had been putting other client’s bikes ahead of mine. Nothing really irks a customer more than to know others’ customers jobs were getting more priority than yours. Especially considering my 1968 bike is about as simple as it can get and should be a breeze to an ‘expert’ like him.

I kept my voice low, but I told him i was going to pull it out soon if no other progress was to be expected. I tried to be really civil and I think I was, but I was really pissed. It was just too much.

A few days later I felt bad about it and also had to face reality. I messaged him again, and asked that if he could get the bike to run on 6v that was ok with me – as long as it ran I was happy.

Reality hit me: If I pulled it out his shop where the hell was I going to go? It had a better chance getting fixed with him for sure, especially after all the work he had done – as slow as he was. But then again I would appreciate some sort of time frame. I mean, every customer deserves one right? I didn’t feel I was being unreasonable.

So I went there 2 days later and lo and behold the bike was sitting outside, looking like it had been worked on. I parked beside it and stared at it a long time. I hadn’t really seen it under the sun that was in weeks. I think I was training my mind to believe that I actually owned it. It looked rough, but it actually looked nice. It was mine. I liked it.

He came out to greet me and immediately told me what his plan was. He noticed the stator was in a certain way (I don’t remember what he said), and that he decided he was going to go full wave now, because it would be a far more reliable bike than 6v, and he wouldn’t have to change the bulbs etcetera. He regretted that he asked me to buy the 6v ignition coil, and he already had his gopher buy a new Lifan set, which includes the parts needed.

That was 2 days ago, and this morning he sent me the video at the top of this post. I asked him if it was ok, he said it was now ‘perfect’.

So there you go.

It’s a thursday now, I ‘ll go there tomorrow or Saturday.

He hasn’t driven it yet because the engine was removed, but I’m hoping he would be able to before I go there to catch any more gremlins.

That’s it, that’s the big update. Hoping for the best.

I remember tanim bala years ago. The press and socmed would be literally screaming everyday on how incompetent PNoy’s admin was over NAIA staff placing bullets into luggage to extort tourists. I also remember the incredible traffic and how complaints would be amplified by the thousandfold, almost like shouting into a microphone so they could share how incompetent they thought PNoy was.

As much as I could empathize I could see however that the problems were clearly local. Tanim Bala was a NAIA problem, and as such should be resolved by NAIA authorities. Edsa traffic was an Edsa problem, not even a nationwide problem, and was therefore up to whoever was managing Edsa or the city as a whole. In fact it was clearly because people were buying so many cars as they had more money.

Meanwhile the economy was GREAT, the Philippines was actually loaning money to other countries. Diesel was P25/li, and for the first time in our lives Filipinos were seeing Senators and the highest of high powered people getting jailed for plunder.

Today, the jeepneys are about to launch a nation wide strike. Philippine seamen are about to lose their accreditation. And guess what, there is a video of NAIA staff IN THE ACT OF ACTUALLY STEALING money from a foreigner. Not just pretending to find a bullet, the guy is fetching it from their wallet and then pleading to the foreigner not to share the recording.

And where is the outrage? Where are the hundred thousand member facebook groups and twitter accounts that suddenly appeared out of nowhere with no other mandate than to supposedly ‘reveal the truth’ about the country’s leaders? Where are the screaming heads on radio that would spread the propaganda that we were being lied to, that the ‘oligarchs’ were going to take everything, 24 hours a day, day after day?

I write about this now because I remember clearly back then wondering if people are actually going to learn. Those people who laughed and mocked Cory, PNoy, Leni and Mar – people who tried their best to improve their countrymen’s lives only to get spat on and ridiculed, their personal lives and those of their loved ones poked fun at, heckled, harrassed and jeered.

The people who voted for Duterte. The people who voted for Marcos. How can they show their faces in public. How can they look themselves in the mirror.

I had been neglecting my business previous to that and was on auto – mode and had been putting projects in the back burner. I couldn’t concentrate on anything anyway so it wouldn’t have worked had I tried.

Oddly enough I was relieved once the whole thing was over for two reasons, the first because of my health. I had never experienced stress manifest the way it did before. I knew and heard about how that happens but to actually see and feel it in effect is surprising. I’ve never really truly felt ‘old’ until now, even after two operations.

Second was like I said in my post previous to this, we have a more ‘awake’ crowd now more than ever. I had been writing about how frustrated I was that people were comfortably, intentionally ignorant of trolls and fake news’ goal which was to rewrite history and ultimately elect an unapologetic, unqualified and quite frankly disinterested dictator’s son.

However in the past months people had gotten together by the hundreds of thousands to show they didn’t want that and weren’t going to take it sitting down. VP Leni said her role partly was to be the figurehead of this awakening and that is true. What’s important is that the truth rise to the surface, that people are made aware of an evil plan. Those rally crowds astound me to this day. Yesterday I happened onto a TikTok of Leni hugging Tintin and Sherwin after seeing them again backstage at Cavite rally 2. Sherwin was the man who drove Leni to the Cavite rally on his motorcycle. It still lead me to tears. I realize now it always will even if I watch it 10 years from now. The outpouring of genuine heartfelt emotion on a rally after rally basis was spontaneous, tremendous and authentic so it reaches into your soul of souls. There were no hearts of stone during those rallies.

Like I said in my last post, although the elections were lost the truth still remains the truth and lies still remain lies. Nothing changes that.

What’s important is that we realize we have to fight for the truth. The enemy is tenacious, prepared and resourceful, so we have to defend truth in every which way, on every socmed platform, on every conversation with friends and families, and take it to the streets occasionally. We’ve seen now how people forget and take it for granted, and how the evil take advantage of that. What we experienced is the direct effect of ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ We did NOTHING. My generation FOR SURE did NOTHING. Meanwhile Marcos’ forces were deep into years of planning and invested billions of dollars. It’s almost laughable now to think how only 8(?) months of volunteer campaigning would have made a difference.

What’s fantastic was that it did make a difference. I had never before in my life seen house to house campaigning done so well and with so much vigor and exuberance. My own limited solo H2H experiences were amazing, and I cherish the times I met new people around our neighborhood because of that. If I could do it all over again I would and twice as hard.

And again just like I said in my previous post, there’s no reason why we should stop campaigning. Clearly without as much priority, obviously we all have lives to live, but with a quiet passion and emotion and with a long term plan. I have a plan of my own, I’ll talk about that later on. What powers me is the knowledge that so much had been done with the little time we had. What more if we use the next six years? The recent battle may have been lost but the war can still be won.

Closer to home I now have to get back to work but with a keener sense of what stress can do to me. I will indulge in what makes me happy, so that means I will write more, I will ride my bike more, heck maybe I’ll try shooting hoops again. Ok maybe let’s not take it that far, but if I wake up one day and nothing hurts, maybe.

I will make more content, I have two vlogs coming up. I’ll push that, I’ll push my merch biz, and I’ll relaunch a Free WordPress Lessons initiative I cooked up but put on hold a couple of months ago. I love tech, I love cars and motorcycles and I will finally indulge my main ‘skill’ – writing. That’s the plan for now.

For many years the most important thing that was on people’s minds were celebrities hooking up, Ms Universe, K-Dramas and the NBA Playoffs. Now, finally, people are forced to talk about truly important things.

And I couldn’t be happier.

I now know why there are grumpy old men because I’ve become one. And the reason why old men become grumpy is because I’ve HAD IT. I’VE JUST HAD IT with how people are so skilled at avoiding difficult topics, at looking past twisted or missing principles and justifying indefensible arguments, then covering it up by talking instead about Steph Curry’s jumper or how a Ms. Universe candidate should walk.

I grew up with painful issues concerning my parents, all of which were nothing compared to what my sibling had to go through. As per tradition with our generation I had to put that in a box, seal it inside me and throw away the key, never to be discussed let alone faced head on (they’re both dead anyway). That is the ‘Filipino Way’. The way to deal with issues was to shop, work out, eat or otherwise distract your pain away, numbing yourself with the momentary endorphin release. Doing so has damaged me for sure, and I live with the results of making many flawed decisions around those emotions.

So seeing Lorenzo Leviste, Wanna Ver, Daniel Padilla, Jake Ejercito, the Araneta and Ledesma clans deal with their issues fills me with hope. They are doing the unspeakable, which is to stand and speak up against people they love, risking ridicule, risking becoming outcasts knowing you won’t get invited next Christmas and never being able to see your cousins’ cute baby or taste your Tita’s cooking. By speaking truth to power they have divided their families, are now outsiders and will surely be blamed for the division.

All for what? To remove a thorn in their hearts. To act against the Great Lie they were told. To expose the truth so they can finally be rid of the cancer they had been carrying.

Although that may hurt, they know it hurts even more to live knowing they have information that will allow a thief, a liar and a complicit killer to move on to power. But more than that they are removing a giant pain in their hearts, one that will allow them to breathe better, one that is worth not eating your Tita’s cooking anymore. One that will assure that your cousin’s baby’s future will be better.

We are already winners because a great majority of us are now aware of the truth.

This is a picture of the enormous Guevara plant in Libertad St. Mandaluyong back in the 70s.

Here, they used to make Radiowealth products, such as steroes, television sets, phonographs, etc.

Here is a picture of a Volkswagen Sakbayan.

The Sakbayan was a local derivative of a Volkswagen Beetle, sharing the engine and chassis but with a different body. It was very popular in the 70s and people my age remember it being used by PLDT as their regular vehicle.

Both products were world class. Dominguez Group of Companies (DMG) was the exclusive importer – distributor and assembler of Volkswagen, selling the popular Beetle and Kombi among others. Starting 1957, they EXPORTED locally assembled Beetles, Kharman Ghias, Micro Buses and Campers VWs. Radiowealth was a nationally popular brand and offered quality products.

Both were founded by Domingo M. Guevara Sr.. Guevent Group started as a small radio store and became a large, world class organization engaged in manufacturing, electronics, communications, agriculture and industrial development, etc.

Enter Marcos

Guevara was one of 7 Constitutional Convention delegates who voted against Martial laws declaration in September 1972. As a result, the Marcos pressured Guevara to give up these businesses, eventually he then fled to the US.

Radiowealth and the VW manufacturing plant closed, and with it the hopes of an industrial economy that would have flourished in a world where Japan and Korea were just starting to get their acts together.

From a Philstar Article dated Jan. 27, 2013, link here https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/starweek-magazine/2013/01/27/901409/domingo-guevara-road-industrialization:

National artist Nick Joaquin wrote about the peak of Guevara’s career in the early ’70s: The first full-fledged auto manufacturer of the Philippines was selling up to 5,000 vehicles a year, was creating the first Philippine-made car, and was manufacturing picture tubes and other electronic components.

He had brought his country’s economy to a crucial threshold: the point of take-off for a NIC, a Newly Industrialized Country.

Then Martial Law was declared and all of Guevara’s plans were thwarted. Before the Marcos takeover backed up by military rule, Guevara had been elected a delegate of the 1971 Constitutional Convention who sought to promulgate programs that would jumpstart the industrialization of the Philippines. Being the man of principle that he was, Guevara was one of seven delegates that voted against the martial law constitution.

Soon after, Marcos representatives were asking the businessman if they could buy into his companies. Domingo Jr., Guevara’s third son, recalls in his father’s biography: I quoted a price to the emissary and asked if his principle could pay it. And the emissary said no, and that no price would be paid. I said: ‘What do you mean?’ And he reported that I should feel flattered that President (Marcos) wanted to ‘invest’ in our company.

When the senior Guevara made it plain that he was not interested in a one-sided partnership with Marcos and his cronies, his firms began experiencing problems with his bankers, and from the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs. What could a businessman do? There was no way of fighting back (under martial law conditions), Guevara recalled in his biography.

Personal Note

My Dad, Geminiano M. Mercado was a VP of DMG. I grew up with memories of many Radiowealth TVs and Stereos (which I thought for years was a foreign brand), and Volkswagens namely the Passat, a couple of Brasilias, a very rare 411 and the one I remember most, a shiny white Type 3 Sedan Beetle variant.

Iâ€ll be honest, I was too young to remember my Dad before his death from cancer in 1986 so I didnâ€t here any stories firsthand. What I do remember is that one of Guevara’s sons rented an apartment in our old Manaluyong house. And that there was always talk about how much of a powerhouse DMG was considering it was actually manufacturing VWs (VWs!!) for local and foreign consumption. Radiowealth was a household brand. Sony only launched the ‘Trinitron’ tv in 1968. Radiowealth was already making TVs while its tech wasn’t up to par yet it was at least making a popular brand nationwide and an adoption of other tech was foreseeable.

Yes that might sound incredible but it was the 70s and technologies introduced in other countries was just as available here and elsewhere. We were an English speaking educated nation with strong ties to America and Europe so there was no reason why tech abroad would not have been adopted and improved on quickly here.

Being a motorhead I would grow up learning that most famous automakers started with very humble beginnings. Sakichi Toyoda was make spinning machines and looms, Soichiro Honda was making bicycles. After the 2nd World War everyone had to start with a clean slate and the Philippines had just as many reasons as any to get ahead industrially as any other country.

I have no doubt that jeepney manufacturers would have flourished given half a chance as well. Owner type jeeps were a staple vehicle then, being cheap and made of readily available parts. They had just as much tech as the cars at the time. If allowed to grow they would eventually meet better manufacturing standards such as improved ride, better emissions. better economy, better ride and safety. Why not? Because manufacturers in other countries had just as much opportunities as we had, no more no less.

We were not lacking in leaders and big ideas. We unfortunately though had Marcos.

Credits to:
• DMG, the company that started the Volkswagens in the Philippines. – https://ifcastro.tripod.com/id24.html
• Domingo Guevara: The road to industrialization – https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/starweek-magazine/2013/01/27/901409/domingo-guevara-road-industrialization
• Isa Munang Patalastas Blog – https://isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com/search/label/Volkswagen
• Remembering DMG: Self-Made Entrepreneur – https://ph.news.yahoo.com/remembering-dmg-self-made-entrepreneur-091445720–finance.html
• Facebook post by Ms. Likha Cuevas – https://www.facebook.com/likha.cuevas/posts/10227182511089659

Transcript:

Mayor Trenas: At the start we found it difficult to look for funds. The office of the VP provided assistance in the amount of P4.9 million that went a long way especially during the start of the pandemic. During those times when it was very difficult to get RT-PCR tests VP Leni also provided P4.5M for test kits.

Discussion with Med Tech:
Med Tech: All in all we have 45 med tech
VP: Wow!
Med Tech: 30 are dedicated to the covid program
VP: Galing a!

We found it very very nice to have someone at the national level who was always around to help us. Si VP Leni ay isang tapat, dedikada, at well qualified na kandidato para sa pagka presidente, para sa akin din.

Siya ang pinakamabuting (best choice) kandidato sa pagka – Presidente na dapat tulungan, hindi lang ng mga Ilonggo, kundi sa buong bansa.

• Link to 1976 The New York Times news article: IMELDA MARCOS HAS NEW BACKING

• Link to Excerpts from book Imelda Marcos: The Rise and Fall of One of the World’s Most Powerful Women https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=kCFqDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT184&dq=presidential%20decree%20731%20imelda%20marcos&pg=PT184#v=onepage&q=presidential%20decree%20731%20imelda%20marcos&f=false

• Link to 1983 United Press Int’l news article: Marcos succession weighed https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/13/Marcos-succession-weighed/3193437547600/

Siyam na taon na nag gobernador ako sa ating mahal na probinsya. Nung 2010, tumakbo si Apo Bongbong Marcos na senador ng Republika ng Pilipinas. Isa ako sa mga nangampanya para sa kanya at nanalo siya. Binigyan natin siya ng madaming boto. Mainit natin siyang tinanggap dito sa ating probinsya ng Cagayan.

Ito ay hindi paninira.

Nung 2011 or 2012 may malakas na bagyo na sumalanta sa Cagayan. Bilang gobernador, lumapit ako sa tinulungan natin na Senador.

Ang inaasahan ko noon, ay tutulong siya sa naghihirap na Cagayan.

Alam niyo kung anong nangyare? Hindi ako naninira nag sasabi lang ako ng totoo.

Hindi man lang ako hinarap.

Pinabayaan niya lang yung resolution ko.

Dalawang beses ako humingi ng tulong para sa probinsya ng Cagayan

Alam niyo ang nangyari?

Ni singkong duling wala siyang binigay.

Link to speech: https://www.tiktok.com/@roml_baldr/video/7074250268031880475?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7023674184837776897

RESIBO:

Link to Inquirer, October 18, 2014: Exit clearance for OFWs now issued online

Link to DOLE.gov.ph, May 26, 2015 (Department of Labor and Employment website): Baldoz wants long lines gone, orders full implementation of
Balik-Manggagawa Online Processing System

CTTO original post: https://twitter.com/SaltAndReality/status/1506821601073197057

Yan ang presensya. Yan ang pagmamahal. We are not too far or too small for her. Yan ang pinuno na karapat dapat sa ating suporta. Si vp leni hindi nag aatubili tumutlong sa ating mga pasyente, sa Manila, sa lahat.

Meron siyang tulong sa ating mga magsasaka P3.5M pesos, para po sa mga kagamitan at pang alagang hayop, at alam niyo po (addressing Leni)

“VP yung iba sa kanila may mga anak na yung kanilang mga alagang kambing at manok. Ibig sabihin dagdag kita para sa ating mga magsasaka.”

Sa Sta Maria, may mga proyekto po sila may mga naayos din sa ibang lugar. Yan ang nararamdaman na pinuno.

The reason why this act exists is thus described:

To recognize the heroism and sacrifices of all Filipinos who were victims of SUMMARY EXECUTION, TORTURE, ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE and OTHER GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986 and restore the victim’s honor and dignity.

So if anyone says something like ‘maganda naman ang buhay nung panahon ni Marcos!‘, ang sagot lang po ay ‘kung ganun, bakit may RA 10368 para na nagtabi ng pondo para mabigay sa biktima ng martial law?‘

Link to Associated Press Article Dated March 27, 1998: “Mrs. Marcos Says Family Has $800M“

Excerpt from APNews Article:

MANILA, Philippines (AP) _ Imelda Marcos claimed Thursday to have more than $800 million stashed away in foreign banks, all of which she promised to give to poor Filipinos if she is elected president.

“If you know how rich you are, you are not rich,″ the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos said. “But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. Thatâ€s how rich we are.″

It is the first time Mrs. Marcos has publicly admitted her family has more wealth than that discovered by the government since Marcos was ousted in a popular revolt in 1986.

Link to Mypope.com.ph Article dated March 26, 2021: Today in 1998, Imelda Promised to Give $800 M if Elected President

Transport and Communications Bulletin for Asia and the Pacific, No. 82 “Combatting Congestion” by, Yves Boquet, 2013

Excerpt:

ABSTRACT

The urban density of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is one the highest of the world and the rate of motorization far exceeds the street capacity to handle traffic. The setting of the city between Manila Bay to the West and Laguna de Bay to the South limits the opportunities to spread traffic from the south on many axes of circulation. Built in the 1940â€s, the circumferential highway EDSA, named after historian Epifanio de los Santos, seems permanently clogged by traffic, even if the newer C-5 beltway tries to provide some relief

Why was EDSA called Highway 54 ?

Construction of what was then called the North–South Circumferential Road began in the 1930s under President Manuel L. Quezon. The construction team was led by engineers Florencio Moreno and Osmundo Monsod.

The road, starting from the North Diversion Road (today the North Luzon Expressway) and ending at the current Magallanes Interchange  with the South Luzon Expressway, was finished in 1940 shortly before the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent Japanese Occupation. After the independence of the Philippines from the United States in 1946, the road was renamed Avenida 19 de Junio (June 19 Avenue), after the birth date of national hero Jose Rizal.

History of Edsa, Wikipedia

Construction of what was then called the North and South Circumferential Road began in 1939 under President Manuel L. Quezon.^[12] The construction team was led by engineers Florencio Moreno and Osmundo Monsod.^[1]

The road, starting from North Bay Boulevard in Navotas and ending at Taft Avenue (formerly known as Taft Avenue Extension / Manila South Road) in Pasay, then in the province of Rizal,^[13] was finished in 1940 shortly before the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent Japanese Occupation. It was then known as the Manila Circumferential Road or simply as Circumferential Road.^[14][15] It was also renamed to Highway 54 and thus designated as Route 54.^[16][17] Due to the route number, there was a common misconception on that time that the avenue is 54 kilometers (34 mi) long.^[1] The present-day North EDSA section in Caloocan and Quezon City was referred to as Calle Samson (Samson Street), while its section in Pasay was also known as P. Lovina Street. After the independence of the Philippines from the United States in 1946, the road was renamed Avenida 19 de Junio (June 19 Avenue), after the birth date of national hero José Rizal.^[1]

Chicago Tribune March 23, 1986 article MARCOS GRAFT STAGGERING excerpt:

In addition to stealing from foreign businesses and governments, Marcos and his cronies appear to have used a collection of banks in Manila, California and elsewhere, including their country`s own central bank, to steal directly from the government they controlled.

The most common scheme appears to have involved overcharging the central bank in connection with government-financed projects and keeping the difference.

”Suppose Marcos` cronies ordered equipment from a foreign country and then overpriced the equipment,” one Manila source said. ”Maybe it was worth $5 million and they put $6.5 million on the invoice. That $1.5 million is what they pocket, and no one is able to trace anything specific.”

APNews.com January 31, 1986 article “Fugitive Tycoon: I Was Marcos Front Man” excerpt:

The Journal said Dewey Dee, 42, has testified to the dealings as part of his effort to gain asylum in Canada. The files are sealed, but the Journal quoted unnamed sources familiar with Deeâ€s testimony.

According to the newspaper, Dee said Marcos was a secret partner in two banks: the Security Bank & Trust Co., the 10th largest commercial bank in the Philippines, and the Redwood Bank in San Francisco.

Dee said Marcos told him to buy the Redwood Bank. He and two partners did buy the bank in 1980; Dee, who was president of the bank, transferred his shares to one of his partners days before he fled the Philippines in 1981.

Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times’ article titled “Investigators Focus on Marcos†Rich ‘Cronies†: Probe Agents Who Handled Investments“, dated March 21, 1986:

In California, the Philippine government investigators are focusing on Rolando C. Gapud, a Manila banker who acted as Marcos†personal financial adviser. A lawyer by training, Gapud ran the Marcos Foundation, a quasi-governmental foundation that absorbed funds from corporations taken over by the Marcos government after martial law was declared in the Philippines in 1972.

Gapud is president of Security Bank and Trust in Manila, and a former director of the Redwood Bank of San Francisco. He resigned from the Redwood Bank because “the publicity and alleged ties to Marcos were presenting a problem for the bank,” said John B. Molinari, another director of the Redwood Bank. Gapudâ€s whereabouts could not be learned.

In New York, the Philippine government has named several Filipinos as nominees and agents of Imelda Marcos in their lawsuit to take control of three office towers in Manhattan and a 14-acre estate on Long Island, reputedly owned by the Marcoses. The properties were reported to be worth more than $300 million.

Tweet I learned this from here.

Transcript below:

George Harrison: Well he tried to kill us, President Marcos

Interviewer: You wanna review that? (laughs)

George Harrison: We went to uhm Manila back in the 60s, the Beatles on a tour and we did a concert and the next morning we were in bed and somebody knocked on the door at the hotel suites and said ‘Come on, you’re supposed to be at the Palace!’, and we said no we’re not we didn’t have any engagement anywhere but somebody, you know, some smart guy said, ‘Sure I’ll get the Beatles to go to the Palace.

And we turn on the TV, we turn the television on and there it was this big Palace with lines of people and the guy said ‘Well they’re still not here yet and we watched ourselves not arrive at the Palace.’ But we were never supposed to be there.

And so what they did was they said ‘the Beatles snubbed the First Family’, which I’m glad we did see even in those days we had taste and so consequently set the mob on us and tried to beat us up which they did they beat up a lot of people with us and wouldn’t let the airplane leave Manila until __ our manager had to get off the plane and give back the money in the concert.

And so that’s what I think of Marcos (gives two fingers going up and down motion) and what a twat he was.

She once had the chance to ask Irene, Imee’s younger sister, how Imee was able to breastfeed her son while traveling around Europe. Excerpt from her website post dated June 6, 2010:

“Later that same summer I found myself sitting on a sofa next to Imeeâ€s younger sister, Irene. She and her new husband, Greg Araneta, were visiting London on their honeymoon. I now had a perfect opportunity to ask Irene why Imee had left her baby Ferdinand at home. “Daddy thought it was safer for him to stay in Manila,” Irene replied. “But I think I heard her saying she was still breastfeeding…” “Yes, she was.” Irene sounded bored. But I was intrigued. “How on earth did she continue to do that when she was travelling around Europe?” I persisted.” Irene glanced at me as though I was stupid. “Simple, Caroline!” she laughed. “She just expressed her milk everyday and then Daddy sent a Philippine Airlines plane to wherever she was and it would bring the milk back!” Irene shrugged her shoulders as if to say – isnâ€t that what every mother does when sheâ€s away from her newborn baby for several weeks?”

That time coincides w/ PAL flight delays & cancellations of in Europe
Reference: https://anywhereiwander.com/2010/06/16/imee-marcos-in-london/

More about Caroline Kennedy: https://anankemag.com/2016/10/18/the-fascinating-world-of-caroline-kennedy/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NKZKrr2Dpg

Victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship have scored a victory in their long quest to get compensation from the Marcos estate.

A US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld on Oct. 24 a contempt judgment against Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., his mother Imelda and the estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos for violating an injunction that barred them from dissipating assets of the estate

Link to TheNationalnews.com Feb. 25, 2011 ‘Victims of Philippines Dictator Win Compensation’

Link to WN.com “Marcoses to fight $353.6-M U.S. court contempt ruling” October 30, 2012:

Link to Bloomberg: Where Did Marcos Hide His $10 Billion Fortune? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-28/finding-the-hidden-10-billion-fortune-of-philippines-president-ferdinand-marcos

Link to Courthouse New Service article on Philippine Human Rights victims winning $10 million settlement for claim on Texas and Colorado Marcos land

EXCERPT from the Courthousenews.com Article:

(CN) – A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, has approved a $10 million class-action settlement for nearly 10,000 victims of human-rights abuses under the Marcos regime in the Philippines.

In approving the settlement, U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means effectively put to rest a case that had lasted nearly a quarter of a century and had worked its way through multiple federal courts.

He called the settlement “fair, reasonable and adequate.”

The nearly 10,000 members of the class said they were subjected to torture, murder, rape and imprisonment for opposing Ferdinand Marcos when he ruled the Philippines from 1965 until February 1986, when he escaped to Hawaii. He died in exile on Sept. 29, 1989.

Link to The San Diego Union Tribune news article on judge approving the settlement with the Human Rights Victims on their claim to the Texas and Colorado land.

Excerpt from the March 1990 Article from APNews.com:

The California Overseas Bank, which prosecutors said had been partially owned by ousted Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud.

The bank was to have gone to trial with Mrs. Marcos next week on charges of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.

Through its attorney.., the bank admitted that certain officers had opened fictitious accounts to enable money to be transferred to the United States from the Philippines.

Link to The Los Angeles Times: Marcos Crony Agrees to Surrender L.A. Bank : Philippines: In return, the U.S. will drop charges. Prosecutors say firm was created to launder money.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-22-mn-384-story.html

Link to United Press Int’l: Court returns assets seized from Marcos crony
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/11/21/Court-returns-assets-seized-from-Marcos-crony/1968690699600/

Link to Associated Press article ‘Bank With Links to Marcos Admits Illegal Transfer of Philippine Money’
https://apnews.com/article/af988e6aa4753e034bfdb9066e73535c

Here is the history of the group, starting from then to today:

Transcribed:

• • Changed name to BBM FOR PRESIDENT 2022 BANGON PILIPINAS Oct 7, 2021
  • Changed name to BBM FOR PRESIDENT BANGON PILIPINAS Oct 7, 2021
  • Changed name to PANG MASA KARAPAT-DAPAT IBOTO,DOC.WILLIE ONG Mar 6, 2021
  • Changed name to PANG MASA PARA SA KALUSUGAN,DOC.WILLIE ONG Feb 4, 2021
  • Changed name to Finding someone to love and friends.. Dec 21, 2020
  • Changed name to Hot and Sexy Body Worldwild May 12, 2018
  • Changed name to Hot and sexy body worldwild May 12, 2018
  • Changed name to Hot and sexy body worldwild (feb.26,2018) Mar 2, 2018
  • Changed name to Hot and sexy body worldwild Mar 2, 2018
  • Changed name to Hot and sexy body yummy pinay worldwild Feb 27, 2018
  • Changed name to Hot and body yummy pinay worldwild Feb 27, 2018
  • Changed name to Yummy Pinay Worldwide Feb 27, 2018
  • The group BBM FOR PRESIDENT BANGON PILIPINAS was created Feb 27, 2018

The following are observations we can get from this:

1. Bong Bong Marcos looks like he had already been planning to run since 2018.
2. It changed its name to ‘Yummy Pinay Worldwide‘ and ‘Hot and sexy body worldwid (sic)’, in order to gain a following from men mostly. It probably used a lot of pictures of attractive women. There were a lot of these in the years following 2016. I am very sure the very popular infamous ‘sbreezy’ (or fbreezy? I forget) group and related groups were also the same. They also do a lot of Car and Motorcycle Groups which I am a member of that are now appearing to be pro Marcos groups underneath.
3. The Group History of a Facebook Page is easily accessible to any Facebook user, even non members. Just go to the page and click the Group History under About.
4. The BIG REVEAL here is that it also changed its name to ‘PANG MASA KARAPAT-DAPAT IBOTO,DOC.WILLIE ONG‘. This is a tremendous discovery with far reaching implications.

Transcript:

Etta Rosales: Ferdinand Marcos mobilized the military and the police in order to perpetuate himself in power/

Imelda Marcos: Martial Law, that was best years of Marcos because that was when he was able to give the Philippines sovereignty, freedom, justice, human rights

Pete Lacaba: Martial law was declared there were a lot of journalists who were critical of the government had been arrested but since I eluded the arresting unit I went underground.

May Rodriguez: I was going to a secret house when the door was opened 3 strange men were there and they pulled me in. They made me sit and tied my hands and blindfolded me and started hours of questioning.

Etta Rosales: I was a teacher one thing led to another I got involved to meet as five people was enough to arrest you and detain me and convict me of subversion

Pete Lacaba: We were taken to a barracks for enlisted men. They hit me in the chest and they made me squat and while I was squatting they hit my shins with a bamboo handle.

Etta Rosales: The electric shocks they were really painful. They would increase the voltage everytime you ‘lied’ to them.

Pete Lacaba: They do what they called the San Juanico Bridge They made me lie down between two beds with my head on one bed and my feet on the other and my body hanging in the air. I would fall from the pull of gravity then they would get me to go up again to lie down on air again, to do the San Juanico again.

Etta Rosales: Isnt it cynical? ‘The Bridge of Love’ for a set of people, becomes a method of torture for another set of people

May Rodriguez: I was really scared they were going to rape me, they made me lie down. So they started to take my panties out, I don’t know who because my eyes were blindfolded, I only knew that both my arms and my legs were being held down and someone started running his hands all over my body. Then some finger went in. And they said ‘you probably have small letters hidden inside.’ By then I wasn’t fighting I was numb, I was ready for it.

Etta Rosales: I was burned with a candle I was molested, sexually by agents of the state.

So the fingers were going in and out, and there was a radio call. The radio call said bring the girl in. No hands were holding me anymore, but I couldn’t get up. It wasn’t from the beating it was from the uhh, disillusionment that people, people as in persons, can actually do these things to another.

Etta Rosales: And some of those who tortured me were actually students of mine who were planted in the schools to spy on us.

Pete Lacaba: My brother while I was in prison decided he would join the resistence at some point the commander of the military unit that caught them decided ‘ah let’s not bring them to the camp anymore. Kill them. He was 27 at the time. They were not officially executed, that’s it that’s why its called extrajudicial executions. Extrajudicial killings.

Etta Rosales: My body was traumatized I had no control over the tremors. The agents they came to me and they said, Ma’m can we continue with the history classes? So what did I do? I taught them, I helped them. It helped me recover. Cause to them in Filipino they’d say, ‘Walang personalan, trabaho lang yan.’

May Rodriguez: I felt proud about myself, I stood up to them, we did not give away any (unintelligible), it sort of like washed away the pain because I bought their safety.

 

70,000 people were incarcerated. 35,000 were tortured, 3,200 killed.