Celebrating Undas, Magandang Gabi Bayan and Lolo Narding and his adventures.
candles in front of the house
My family celebrates Undas with customary visits to the cemetery, preparation of atang for the departed souls and putting up candles around the house at night. When we were kids, my two older siblings and I loved seeing the entire house lighted by white candles and their pointed red-orange flame that sway easily with the slightest gush of wind. The chill of the ‘ber months’, the wary tales of ghostly encounters by my Lolo Narding and the tall, dark, irregular silhouettes created by the candles always made this event extra special and spooky to me.
My fascination with the supernatural started with Lolo Narding. As far back as I can recall, he would tell me stories of aswangs, engkantos and mangkukulams every afternoon to scare me to sleep. You see, I despised taking afternoon naps as a child. ‘Tsa Lumen, my nanny, would have to chase me around the house, drag me inside the house and forcibly lull me to sleep. But I never fall asleep; in fact all I do is cry and throw tamtrums. Sometimes, I would sneak out of the house and play in the backyard. People always warned me that afternoons or tanghaling tapat is the time when engkantos come out and play. To a four or five year old child, that means nothing especially if she is used to scare tactics such the bombay who takes away kids who do not sleep, the police who arrests the kids who do not sleep, or even the bad neighbor who kidnaps kids who do not sleep. I mean, really.
I started to get sick almost everyday during those times. I’ll have fever in the afternoons but will quickly resolve at night. It was puzzling how my fever never goes down even with intake of meds. More interesting was the fact that I only get sick when I play in the backyard at afternoons. At night and in the morning after, I was as healthy as anyone in the house.
Lolo Narding came to stay with us then. He is my great grandmother’s second husband from my mother’s side in Bacolod City. My mother tells me that he fights with evil mumus and aswangs back home but to me, he was feeble, thin and old, barely able to walk as steadily as I can. With both my siblings in school during afternoons, Lolo Narding would beckon me to stay inside the house to listen to his stories. At first, I never really paid him much attention until he told me that I was not alone in the backyard. I remembered looking around me, going behind the two huge coconut trees to the kamias and the bayabas trees just to see if there was anyone hiding there. He smiled at me then, seemingly amused that he finally got my attention.
May dwending puti, anak.
Now that really caught my attention. Its as clear to me now as it was then when he told me those exact words. I remember it as Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men said, crystal. And from then onwards, I filled my afternoons with Lolo Narding’s amazing supernatural stories. Nevermind that they never got me to sleep but at least they were able to make me stay put. It usually takes us the entire afternoon and often until bedtime to finish just one story since he cannot speak fluent tagalog. Instead of scaring the hell out of me, our afternoon sessions made me more curious and more determined to see those lamang lupa for myself. But as Lolo said, you never wish for things like that, especially out of curiosity.
Since then, I have always been drawn towards movies, series, stories, or just about anything with spook. When Lolo passed away, his usual bevy of scary stories was eventually replaced by watching Magandang Gabi Bayan (MGB) Undas Specials on Saturday night. Literally, everyone I know would have to come home just to watch this special segment. And sure enough, everyone at school talks about the program for almost one week after. You’d almost feel like a big loser if you missed out on this.
The old arbularyo in this segment reminds me so much of my Lolo. =(
MGB was taken off the air some years ago but the following are some of the vintage MGB Undas specials I found on Youtube.
Last Sunday, ABS-CBN attempted to ressurect a pseudo MGB Undas special, titled KABABALAGHAN in their slot for Sunday’s Best at 10:45pm. Sadly, to me at least, it was terrifyingly boring to death. After the SANIB segment of the show, I called it quits. There’s something about the old MGB UNDAS format that I sorely miss. Maybe the new one lacked the authencity, that gritty, unedited, raw, in your face vibe the former one had in abundance.
Still, Undas should be practiced to remember the dead, to offer prayers and to pay respects to the departed. Not just to play dress up to terrorize your whole neighborhood for sweets and apples.
Ang Babae sa Septic Tank
To all those people who expect to fall, laughing from their seats, I suggest you give this movie a wee bit slack but a lot more credit for being entertaining in a different way. This is not Eugene Domingo doing another Kimmy Dora nor is it about poverty and pedophilia and the Philippines being a 3rd world country. This movie is all about dreaming big, falling hard and then crawling your way out of your hole.
Chris Martinez wrote the script for the movie and I have to say, I just love, love, love this man. I love his Last Order sa Penguin and I love Kimmy Dora to death. He keeps everything neat and simple and his punchlines never go overboard. His characters are very real and when you try to read Last Order sa Penguin, its as if the characters are right in front of you. Galing, galing. For this Cinemalaya entry, Martinez teamed up with director Marlon Rivera, Eugene Domingo (as herself), Kean Cipriano (Director Rainier), JM de Guzman (Producer Bingbong), and Cai Cortez (Production Assistant Jocelyn).
GIST: Three indie filmmakers are dead set on making an Oscar-worthy film. They have the vision, the right script, the perfect location, the brains to make everything work, and the bankable leading actress in their hands but their fickle minds seem to put them astray from their original plans. The trio gets a reality check when they meet Domingo for the first time and realize that they have to do a major overhaul on their plans just to get her signed on. With authenticity in the movie seemingly gone, a load full of theatrical revisions and incredible diva demands from their lead force Rainier to accommodate her demands in exchange for a small hope of making it big. Although hesitant at first, Rainier caves in when tragedy strikes them and puts them in a tight spot.
The top star falling into the septic tank, to me, means that everyone is bound to have a shitty time and hit rock bottom. But life goes on and you have to find ways to go around your problems and make them work to your advantage. No one stays at the top or at the bottom for too long; you just have to endure, make the most or savor the moment while you can. You make the best out of your misfortunes by learning from them. And you just have to see the final scene to know what the hell I’m blabbering about.
Comic relief came from Eugene Domingo and the trio’s director-arch nemesis. GAWD. The scene in the coffee shop was really funny. As in WOW, ang galing. Galing…galing. That director-arch nemesis dude should get a slice of the credit. Darn it, give the dude some EXPRESSO. You were annoying and entertaining at the same time. Whoever you are, MORE POWERS to you. I totally enjoyed your scene. And of course, Eugene Domingo’s performance was CHECK na CHECK.
If the hype about Eugene Domingo winning Best Actress for her role in this movie is not enough reason for you to see this, then add Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Film and Audience Choice awardee to your list. 
Dilemma about Noda
I usually take a seat at the back, the farthest I can go away from the professors and their trigger-happy, chalk-loving hands that love to point randomly at students and force them to recite. I just hate that. So I dodge their looks and pretend to preoccupy myself with taking down notes, even if all I really do is draw nasty caricatures of anyone in class. Even when I love the subject, I only find it necessary to talk when I am in a debate, present a report, ask a question, or join in to make fun of someone. But the thing that I hate most in class is the BIBO or the pa-BIBO type who make it their life’s mission to shoot their hands high up in the air every other 5 minutes and talk non-stop, TANGENTIALLY and CIRCUMSTANTIALLY, about things that they THINK are related to the topic. Its basically migraine-inducing.
Noda WAS such a person.
I sat next to her in a basement classroom during college. She was this geeky-looking girl who wore her shoulder-length hair as straight as Sadako’s. Everytime she went to class, you would see a black jacket constantly TIED to her oversized ‘piano’ shoulder bag. She would wear her ultra thick eyeliner behind her ultra thick black-rimmed glasses. This girl also wore layers upon layers of unnecessary clothing. I am used to the ‘walang pakialamanan‘ fashion subculture that UP has but she would come to class as if Philippines is in Antarctica: donned in polo or in tees worn over long sleeves,sometimes paired with jeans and knee-high boots. And did I mention we were classmates during summer?
The first day of class started with us getting seated in alphabetical order. As I sat in the front row, Noda beamed at me behind her black glasses. I smiled back and introduced myself, as I always did for my seatmates. She gave me her real name but insisted I call her ‘Noda’, after her favorite anime character who, like her, is a genius with the piano. After I smiled and nodded politely, I turned my attention elsewhere to try and scan for familiar faces but then she taps me on my shoulder and the next thing I know, she had told me all about her ravishing childhood in some foreign country, her 2 failed relationships and why she ended up in UP and not in ADMU, UST, DLSU, MAPUA, FEU, and other schools in Manila all in 10 minutes. I thought it was nice to have a chatty seatmate especially since the prof looked like he was boring to death.
The prof started by giving us the lecture syllabus and proceeded with his class rules and other academic requirements he wanted. It was fairly typical. By the end of his mandatory speech, he looked around and asked if we had questions. Noda raised her hand and even before she was recognized to speak, she said (as accurately as I can recall, in verbatim):
Sir, totoo po bang may multo sa St. Therese? Kasi po dun ako nakatira. Baka magalit parents ko.
First of all, she was in 5th year and I would have forgiven her curiosity if she was a freshie. Second, were campus ghosts within the scope of PI 100!? Third, I see no logical connection between ghosts and her parents getting mad at their presence. As I contemplated these things in head, there she was beside me: smiling and looking around for affirmation in the class – but all I saw were irritated faces all around, mine included. The prof however was kind enough to tell her that stories would not have been passed around for so long if they had no basis.
So Sir, hindi totoo?
I thought maybe she had a hearing defect or something. But as I learn in medicine now, maybe she had an auditory hallucination at that time. The prof this time said flat out,
50-50.
And with that, I thought the class would have finally ended. As I start to gather my things, Noda raised her hand and asked,
Sir, hindi ba kayo naniniwala sa ibang dimension?
My eyes rolled. I was pissed. Not only was I late for a PE class that was miles away, but I was scared out of my mind that I might have to endure the entire summer sitting next to her.
I must have forgotten to pray that night or I did not pray hard enough to let those migraine-inducing, hand-raising events to not get the better of me. I was literally depressed and annoyed and angry and uninterested with everything about that class after that fateful first day. It was such a pain to come to class and more so to hear her questions and to see her raise her hand to every little darn thing. I just shut down after a couple of days and as the 1st week ended, I was fuming mad at that alphabetical seating arrangement. I was staring into space and praying that the class would end in 10 minutes or less or that for once Noda would be absent. Or better yet, she decided to drop the course entirely. I was looking for excuses to have the class dissolved, even if we were more than enough to fill a decent-size class room. I was mad, mad, mad.
I remember very little from that class, apart from the 2 required books the prof made us buy (new tagalog versions of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo) and my new found love in reading Ambeth Ocampo’s works about Rizal. I cannot recall my classmates, their names or if I ever shared a decent conversation with any of them. Everything was overshadowed by my hate towards Noda and her oh-so brilliant, pa-cute questions.
Summer ended. I was exempted to take the finals in that subject and I was freaking happy to exit from that whole miserable experience.
—
Just recently, a classmate from that subject added me in FB. He was kind enough to introduce himself as such and, seeing as I do not remember anyone from that class, I was obliged to add him. We had the opportunity to talk (via chat) and reminisce about our class during that particular summer. It somehow felt weird that this guy would add me after all those years and after all those nightmarish days I spent in that class. Things got even more strange when he told me how funny me and my seatmate were.
Seatmate? Noda?
I told him that I do not remember a lot from that class since it was so long ago. And that he needs to remind me big time. Well, apparently, a lot of people found Noda very amusing although at first they all wanted to choke her with their bare hands for asking those silly questions everytime. But as the days and weeks rolled by, the majority of the class actually found her funny! As in F-U-N-N-Y! In my head I was like,
Are you sure your adding the right person here?
And what was my role in all this super FUNNY business? According to him, they found it funny whenever I would slouch in my desk or nod and roll my eyes everytime Noda would speak up. And after all this time, I thought I did those things very discreetly. I can tell he was laughing in his seat, behind his laptop as he typed with so many emoticons and LOLs and HAHAHAs and exclamation points at every end of his sentences. He told me things I honestly did not remember and even quoted his favorite Noda lines. My response was all blah, like HAHAHA and LOL and HeartHeartHeart without saying anything at all. I mean, how could I when all I could ever recall was this intense boring pain in my brain?!
We ended our chat after 20 or 30 minutes. My fingers were too tired from writing HAHAHAs and LOLs and <3s so I called it a night. After a few days, a couple of more people from that class added me. All of them had the same stories about me and Noda and how entertaining that class was. They even proposed to meet at the ELBI FebFair for a mini reunion. And I was like,
Ano?
In my head, I’m thinking 1) they must be adding the wrong person, 2) they must have been high on buko pie that summer or 3) I might have been mentally and spiritually absent all those time. And what was more surprising was that every single one of my former classmates are raving about Noda and our tandem. I seriously cannot recall anything from that class more so the FUNNY moments that these people keep on telling me.
Was I THAT detached?! Did I imagine all those annoying things about Noda and if not, why am I the only one able to remember them?! OMG. I think its time I chill, cut people more slack and be more receptive towards other people.
Its time I stop being too judgmental.
The issue is beyond Willie Revillame being a pompous prick
Its not just his face, his obnoxious voice or his extravagant display of wealth and influence on TV ratings that make me want to punch Revillame square in the face. Why is it that networks wage wars to get this prick on their sides? He’s not even funny. This man is disrespectful in every way and thinks too highly of himself. For all the mess that he has created over these past years, I have yet to hear him accept responsibility for his actions. He is arrogant, immature and is too afraid to admit his faults, perhaps even to himself.
I do not know WHY noontime shows were ever reformatted to their current state of tasteless entertainment. I understand the part of giving money and the games and the bevy of sexy dancers and kooky hosts, but I am completely clueless as to the why contestants have to perform or show whatever TALENTS they have before they play. With or without talent, contestants have to make do with whatever wares they have and bite down humiliation as they sing, dance or act in front of national tv. If people want to show what they are capable of, then they should join TALENT SHOWS instead of GAME SHOWS.
I get the fun in doing something silly as in drinking sprees and parties but to make someone do it for your amusement is not right. To begin with, people who are less fortunate flock to these game shows because they need easy money; not because they want to be artistas or the next singing/dancing sensation. Game shows mean to help, I know that, but they tend to exploit the players’ situation by making them perform when they obviously cannot. Actually, most of what we see on TV is geared towards presenting a challenge and then handing out cash to the victor. But every program has to have a selling point or else every program on TV will be boring and redundant. So do Philippine Game Shows bank on making their players look stupid? To a lot of people, I think they call this ‘entertainment’.
So who is at fault: the industry who feeds Revillame’s ego or Revillame himself?
Now that a lot of companies are pulling their ads from his show, Revillame will soon run out of endorsers who fund the prizes in his show. If the endorser are gone, money will go with them. And with money out, will people still go to Revillame’s side? I think not. You put someone else in Revillame’s shoes, have him throw out loads of cash and people might like him just the same. As I see it, people want him and will stay with him because of money and NOT because of his winning personality, brain-splitting humor and God-given hosting skills. Despite several calls that they have abused the 6 year old Jan Jan, TV5 is willing to back Revillame. And why not, the network has invested a ton of money to buy him on board; they’re still not done milking him.
Revillame has always been bastos and TV Execs are always seeking ways to keep their shows ENTERTAINING but Jan Jan’s parents should have been the primary ones to guard their son from abuse. In the first place, how could a 6 year old boy learn to dance ala macho dancer without anyone prodding or teaching him? The boy could have done something else on the show but that dance routine was probably the product of intensive training under the tutelage of whoever was so desperate and sick to make him dance so provocatively and inappropriately for his age.
Come to think of it, are we also to blame? Perhaps the networks think that we get easily turned on by these spectacles. Sometimes I think that we are also immature in terms of what we want as an audience. And its not just game shows, but the same goes for movies, series, telenovelas, fantaseryes, and actors and the other people we see on tv and tend to worship. I want variety, substance and originality but often we get repackaged, formulated and copied works that are just too annoying to watch. And I beg pardon if I am straying from the main issue here.
But alas, Jan Jan and his family recently confirmed that it was the boy himself who learned the routine. Apparently, the boy was mature enough to decide that he wants to be an artista. Even suggesting that he was supposed to use Careless Whisper as his background music on Willing Wilie. So what, Jan Jan wants to be Hayden Kho? Assuming of course that Jan Jan got the idea from Kho’s macho dancing routine with Katrina Halili. How in the world could a boy his age think of using Kho’s infamous dance? Really, a 6 year old child could do that?!?!? Wow, money does work wonders.
Johari Window
I take a lot of things for granted. People even. I suck at savoring THE moment. I cling, I nag and I have the nasty tendency to forget someone and deny they ever existed. Most often, I am unforgiving. I am never good at being subtle and I do not consider a late apology. Mind you, I always burn that in my memory. And it stays there glued, like FOREVER. I am stubborn and I am rational and stupid. I never learn my lessons and I characteristically make the same mistakes, not twice, but as many as I could possibly handle before I cry. Yeah, cry baby too, I might add. But surely, everyone is ironic. Or else everyone could get arrested for being so boring.
I am the ‘usual suspect’ when it comes to almost anything. Not because I am but because I look the part. I may have the habit to pull pranks, gather up the latest gossip and tease people mercilessly; I maybe a lot of things mischievous but I, believe it or not, am not the type to start anything. People who judge me solely on my looks make that mistake a gazillion times over before realizing that they put the blame on me for no apparent reason. And that pisses me off. Do not make me the bad guy. But what pisses me more is when meek and kind-looking people do not own up and instead let the mob lynch me. Karma is a b*tch, I tell you. And I hope someday it catches up to you (in the past, present and future tense).
Maybe because I talk too much or that I talk big. Or maybe I resemble someone from the Sopranos enough to scare their pants off. First of all, I do not intimidate and, as much as I applaud Machiavelli’s preference of fear over love, I do not employ that in my everyday life. Maybe it’s my aura or something that signals other people that I am evil and mad and capable of nasty, nasty things. One of these days, I should see myself from other people’s perspective. Hello Johari Window. 
I remember doing the Johari Window in my SpeechCom 2 class back in college. It was pretty standard and lame and I think it did not serve its purpose. Why? because my friends and I did not take it seriously. And because I did the Johari Window for myself and for my friend. She was suppose to do one for me but she forgot to so that’s that. Anyway, if you want to know more about the Johari Window, go here.
During undergrad, we had this very cool professor for Psychology. He loved to make every member of the class send notes to each other and make us EXPRESS what we feel HONESTLY towards one another. In other words, spell trouble for the entire class. I hate doing letters and have to write to people I barely know but for some reason, I kept the notes I got from this class. The professor’s instructions were simple: TELL THIS CLASSMATE WHAT YOU THINK OF HIM/HER (1) AT THE START OF THE SEMESTER AND (2) NOW (end of the semester). BE HONEST. In total, everyone of us got 35 x 2 = 70 mini letters.
The following were the most memorable I got:
AT THE START OF THE SEMESTER
studious
tahimik
mataray
naghahabol ng grades (in college terms, running for honors not someone who is bound to fail)
MAHINHIN
serious
BIBO
mabait
snob
OC
mukhang laging nagta-top sa exams
classmate kita sa stat. Pakopya manual ha. mukha ka naman nice
Mukhang matalino. may dala palaging Hyman e.
NOW
Magulo
madaldal
maingay minsan. snob sa labas ng class
palaging naka-kunot ang noo
favorite ni sir
bukang bibig ni sir
laging may dalang cat bag — hindi mo pwede iwanan sa dorm? lagi kasing nakaharang sa daan
mataray
palabiro
pala-asar
mapang-api — pero mabait ka naman sa akin. Sabi lang ni ___ mapang-api ka. Ni-relay ko lang sa ‘yo.
laging tinatawag ni sir para tapusin ang tula/lyrics/kwento. kaya dapat lahat ng ginawa nating kwento/tula ang title e Ninya’s story or Ninya’s poem. Pero funny naman yung mga dinudugtong mo kaya okay na rin
laging late
amoy formalin minsan — kaya ba lagi kang nasa pinto umuupo? Pero I like you. peace!
Gosh. I wish I kept more of those letters.
Brillante Mendoza’s Kinatay (2009)
A couple of years back, the bus that I was riding home from Laguna to Makati got held up by 10 armed men. Up to this day, I still find it hard to believe that it did happen; because not only was it the most terrifying 5 hour bus ride of my entire life but the whole thing happened like it was lifted straight from the movies.
That day, I remembered doing everything I do not usually do: going home late in the afternoon, taking the bus home and not staying for the festivities of our university. Straight from my 5pm class, I just took my bag, decided I want to go home and hopped on a bus 5 minutes later. Around 40 minutes into the ride, as the bus passed by the police check point and headed to the open high way, 2 men ran up front and started to shout and wave their guns at us. More men subsequently stood up, holding knives as they took our money and other valuables. Everything happened so fast that I could not do anything but hand them my bag and everything else I had. I looked around and saw disbelief on the faces of the other passengers. Some passengers were even laughing and looking for a camera, like the whole event was being shot for a gag show or something. As the minutes passed, it became clear to all of us that this was not a joke. One by one, the passengers grew quiet as the robbers started to force the men to the aisle and leave us women in our seats. As the robbers continued to shout and hurl curses at us, some started to cry, begging them not to hurt any of us. During this time, I felt like my body was going numb, I was scared, I was too afraid to even move or breathe heavily, I was crying as silently as possible because my head was filled with images of us being blown up to bits, beaten or left dead by the side of the road. I was anticipating for the worst yet I was hoping to get out of there alive.
Brillante Mendoza’s Kinatay (Butchered) reminded me of that long and grisly ride into the night. This movie won several awards back in 2009:
62nd Cannes International Film Festival, Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay”
42nd Sitges International Festival of Fantastic Cinema of Catalonia, Spain, Best Original Soundtrack: Teresa Barrozo, “Kinatay”
42nd Sitges International Festival of Fantastic Cinema of Catalonia, Spain, Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay”
Although many critics do not like this movie, for example Roger Ebert:
Here is a film that forces me to apologize to Vincent Gallo for calling “The Brown Bunny” the worst film in the history of the Cannes Film Festival… You mark my words. There will be critics who fancy themselves theoreticians, who will defend this unbearable experience, and lecture those plebians like me who missed the whole Idea. I will remain serene while my ignorance is excoriated. I am a human being with relatively reasonable tastes. And in that role, not in the role of film critic, I declare that there may not be ten people in the world who will buy a ticket to this movie and feel the money was well spent.
Or that Mendoza received boos during the awards night, I can say with much certainty that this movie is well worth your money and your time.
For a synopsis of the movie, go here.
The movie may not be as bloody as one would expect but the long anticipatory ride of Peping (Coco Martin) inside a van with a crying, gagged and beat up junkie (Isabel Lopez) and several ruthless men is just enough to cause you anxiety and discomfort throughout the movie. And for me, Mendoza did that well. Critics can always say what they want but for me, I just love the simplicity of the movie and how it makes you feel relieved that its Peping and not you who has to keep his fear hidden from the other men. I loved how Peping seemed dazed and helpless during his ordeal and how he became frustrated when he wanted to escape the men. Everything was raw and dark and very minimal. Its very close to reality for me since butchered or dismembered victims often show up here in the country and reach the news.
Kinatay may not be as grand (shot as an independent movie after all) and as gruesome as you would think but IT IS WORTH SPENDING YOUR MONEY AND TIME ON.
Local and SK elections 2010
Although everyone in the house were up and ready to vote so damn early in the morning, I simply slept and let them be on their way. In all honesty, I had no desire to vote today because I simply did not know any of the candidates. And I will not succumb to the pressure of voting for the kumare or the kumpare of the family. Nor will I vote for the cutest SK candidate either.
In this country, there are people who make a living out of politics. In fact, most of these politicos cling to their posts as long as possible just so they could dip their sweaty hands into the forbidden pot of gold. They know close to nothing about the law, make no effort to hide their incompetence and would even have the nerve to watch Manny’s fights abroad. And how do these trapos get elected almost unendingly? I often ask this question myself and damn if the answer is charm.
The local elections are not spared by violence and vote buying as one would think that these two only happen during the national elections. Apparently, there are more perks now for the Barangay Captain such as having more control over the barangay’s internal revenue allotment (IRA) and having a much higher pay. Even for a small barangay the IRA could get up to millions and without anyone to audit and verify it, someone could simply walk away richer.
Let’s face it, nowadays people win by virtue of popularity and not by their capacity to lead. Not everyone, of course, but a majority of politicos use their TV presence or their being FRIENDLY to score votes. Being well known and being everyone’s friend maybe advantages but it cannot guarantee success. I have seen too many SK or Kagawad or Barangay Captain aspirants flash too many fake smiles and take too many pictures holding someone’s 2 month old baby by the side of the street while whispering to vote for them. Tacky.
Its just crazy when you hear news about a KAGAWAD candidate shot in front of his home by three unknown assailants or when four BARANGAY CAPTAIN candidates accuse each other of vote buying and hit each other in front of the people DURING ELECTIONS. I mean, the lengths to which these people will go to just to have power is truly, truly shameless. More than 2000 precincts around the country have had no elections due to violence or a delay in the arrival of the election paraphernalia. In Abra and in some parts of Mindanao, some would even attempt to steal the ballot boxes or carry guns inside the precincts and terrorize rival candidates. Needless to say, politics and elections go hand in hand with violence in this country. And that is not good.
The Stoning of Soraya M.
I was going through my files the other day when I saw The Stoning of Soraya M. stacked in between two of my most favorite comedy flicks in recent years. I decided to scroll past this movie, not because I didn’t like it, but I wanted to avoid having the same restless feeling I had when I first watched it. The title itself is already suggestive and watching it again meant heartache all over. But then the exact same reason why I wanted to watch it in the first place prompted me to see it again: disbelief that such an abominable practice still exists in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The movie was adapted from French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s 1990 international bestseller La Femme Lapidée, based on a true story about Soraya Manutchehri’s stoning in southwestern Iran in 1986. The movie was released in 2008 and had won several awards:
Heartland Film Festival - Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award
Los Angeles Film Festival - Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Toronto International Film Festival - Runner Up Audience Choice Award
Satellite Awards – Best Motion Picture, Drama (Nominated) and Best Actress in Motion Picture, Drama (Shoreh Aghdashloo)
The story revolves around Soraya, a mother to 4 children and wife to Ali, a prison guard who works in the city. Ali demands a divorce from his wife so he can marry Mehri, a 14 year old child bride whose father stands to get executed. Soraya declines to give her abusive husband the divorce since she depends on him financially. Although her husband offered to give her the house and the land, he will not give her money since he cannot support two wives. Aside from being abusive, chauvinist and ill-tempered, Soraya’s husband has also turned their two young sons against her. Unnerved by her husband’s threats and a malicious proposition from Sheikh Hassan, the town’s holy man, Soraya decided to leave, taking her two young daughters with her to stay at her aunt Zahra’s house. She then accepted work for Hashem, a recent widower with a mentally handicapped son, and saved every penny she earned for doing house work. Ali and Hassan started to plot against Soraya, even convincing the town’s mayor, Ebrahim, to put her on trial for committing adultery with Hashem. At first, Hashem did not want to take part in their plot but Ali threatened him that his son could be put in a mental institution if he and Soraya were sentenced to death by stoning. Fearing for his son, Hashem lied and told Ebrahim that Soraya suggested an intent to have a relationship with him. After merely a couple of hours of deliberation, the male council of the town sentenced Soraya to be stoned to death.
I just love how the movie was narrated and I love how richly authentic the setting was. One could get easily absorbed into Soraya’s plight and be moved by how she struggled to keep her dignity, innocence and honor even at the last moments of her life. As you watch the movie, the sadness starts to build up and then later anger and then fear that something inevitably sinister will happen. Seeing as the title itself is a dead giveaway of what is expected, having to sit for 20 minutes or so for Soraya’s stoning during the last part of the movie is stomach-turning and heart-wrenching.
Its not that I want to question or put to any shame the religion of Islam, but to just think that honor killings such as this still exist in the modern world is beyond me. Stoning is an equivalent of the Western world’s death sentence but to put someone to death by mere suspicion is truly unlawful. SUSPECTED people are not even able to defend themselves! The worst being the disproportionate number of women being stoned to death by the male dominated culture of this religion. Males usually receive a much lighter punishment such as flogging or taking 50 whips or even just imprisonment. Even the procedure for stoning is different for males and females: males are buried waist down while the females are buried neck deep as an entire town is required by faith to participate by throwing stones at them.
I remember a couple of years back when a viral video of a 16 year old Kurdistan girl being stoned to death and mobbed mostly by male members of her town surfaced in the internet. The people who participated in the stoning even posted pictures of the girl being bludgeoned to death, apparently happy that they were doing this in the name of honor. The girl had fallen in love with a Sunni boy and eloped with him. As eloping or being in love with someone outside their faith is strictly forbidden, stoning of the girl to death is the only way to restore honor to her family and her tribe.
To stone INNOCENT people to death is INHUMANE and the worse part of it all is that some Islam countries and their authorities deny having this problem, as if honor killings do not exist or that those stoned to death truly deserved their fate. This practice has just got to stop.
INCOMPETENCE at the Rizal Park
Whether former Senior Police Inspector Rolando Mendoza was wrongfully accused of extortion or not is no longer the issue; rather his disregard for other people’s lives in selfish pursuit of justice.
Maybe he deserved to have his name cleared but what right does he have to take a handful of innocent people, use them as human shield, terrorize them for a good 11 hours, and then kill them? You do not right a mistake by making another. Certainly, you do not hostage a bus at gun-point and expect the country to believe you, more so have the government listen. That’s just stupid.
Its pretty obvious that Mendoza wanted attention but he could have had it without involving the Hong Kong tourists. I mean, he could have peddled his case to the media or have a newspaper print his piece. He could have contacted Mon Tulfo or XXX or Imbestigador to be on t.v. too. But really, hostage-taking? Wow.
This scenario not only reflects the sort of desperation Mendoza had on his mind but also of our justice system. Is our judicial system that bad that no one would dare believe in due process? Being a policeman should have made Mendoza believe more in the system but what the hell happened? All those years being in the service proved nothing. He should have filed a petition or a complaint, waited and even waited some more for a decision like a model citizen should have done.
I would not know how it feels to have your name tarnished, should Mendoza be right, but this I am sure: you do not put anyone in danger for your own personal gain.
Another migraine-inducing part of last night’s hostage disaster was the police, the SWAT or whoever was there to NEUTRALIZE the situation.
This is a statement from Manila police commander Leocadio Santiago regarding the hostage-taking. For one thing, why did the snipers wait 11 hours before attempting to shoot at Mendoza? They did not have to kill him but to disable him would have been enough. They could have shot at his arms or legs and then once he was down, the police could have swooped in and ended the crisis. I understand they needed time for negotiations but why wait a couple of hours more after the negotiations ended? If I have to say a reason, i would say its just normal, typical of our policemen to be incapable of handling such crises. And that’s saying something else.
And another thing, why blame the media for ‘leaking their tactics’ when the police could have opted to say nothing whenever interviewed? Why let the media in on their plans? The thing lacking here is procedure as Santiago mentioned in his statement.
Who is to blame for the deaths of 8 innocent people? My money is on the police because had they have acted wise enough, fast enough, the tragedy could have been prevented.
So to you PNP, may we see an end to your blunders soon. Do train hard, you obviously need it.
Dear Noynoy
To be honest, I did not vote for you; not because I am irritated with your (first) sister or because I hate getting updates about you and your pretty girlfriend, nor is it because I frown upon your smoking habit. No, its just that I thought someone better deserved to be put in that position. But seeing as many of our countrymen clamored to make you president, I had to concede to the majority.
Before your mother’s death, no one ever considered you as a president-to-be. At least I did not. Because frankly, like your running mate, I thought you lacked charisma, personality and strength. You seemed too nice, too soft, to berate your colleagues in Congress. You seemed uninteresting. To me, the only reason you held that senate position was because you carried AQUINO in your name; the same way other second or third generation politicians get into politics. Its like name recall which some actor-politicos use to get them elected. You were some sort of celebrity and everyone knew who the Aquinos were. Problem was, for me, I did not know you really.
To say that you carry the torch of your parents’ ideals, for me right now, may be too much. You have yet to prove yourself and I hate to see you use your presidency as some sort of testing ground. You were raised well by your family, no doubt, but becoming president may call for something else. Besides, you still have that unresolved Hacienda Luisita issue; its a stark contrast from what you portray as being for the people.
I do not expect you to have PGMA and her royal dogs in jail ASAP (although putting her in jail sometime within your term would be awesome), nor do I expect you to rid the government completely of buwayas and trapos. Heck, I do not even expect you to bring Sen. Ping Lacson out from hiding! I guess, the only things I expect from you are that YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOUR OWN POCKETS AND NEVER EVER LIE TO US. Please, do not promise us anything you cannot keep. We are sick and tired of that lame, stupid trick. Por fabor, we are not gullible. If you say that you are for the people, then by all means, be for the people.
I may not have voted for you but I am willing to put my trust on you. Do not let us down. PLEASE. It may seem daunting that everyone in this entire country is counting on you to make a difference but realize that you are not alone. WE all want to make difference; we just need someone to give us directions.
To you, president apparent only until June 15 2010, God bless.
Is it a merry christmas?
With all that has happened – the 57 people butchered mercilessly in Maguindanao, the poor factory worker who was beheaded needlessly, the VP of Basilan State College being abducted, the 48 people held captive by the Perez clan – is it right to call this Christmas merry?
Andal Ampatuan Jr. is in jail and Maguindanao is under martial rule. Here’s a great question for PGMA and her advisers: why put Maguindanao under martial law?
There are only two things that require a call for martial law: invasion and rebellion. Are the paramilitary followers of the Ampatuans so hostile that their so-called uprising can be considered rebellion?
The crime of rebellion or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the Government for the purpose of removing from the allegiance to said Government or its laws, the territory of the Philippine Islands or any part thereof, of any body of land, naval or other armed forces, depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives. (As amended by R.A. 6968).
Not that they are not hostile, but just like what Sen. Santiago said, maybe PGMA is just looking for a reason, anything, to make that decision. And after that, what else could stop her from putting the country under martial law too?
Then again, if PGMA is indeed not planning to put the country under martial law and if the Ampatuan followers were found to be planning a rebellion, then the Ampatuans would most likely be jailed for rebellion and not for murder. And considering that the punishment for rebellion is a bit lighter than murder, then the Arroyo administration is doing the clan a huge favor. I mean, where would PGMA be if not for the Ampatuans who orchestrated her win during the last elections in Mindanao?
Above all this, I believe PGMA’s desire to become Pampangga representative for 2010 is just awful. Her addiction to power is to us like breathing air to survive. The scariest part of it is that once she gains a seat in Congress, the Constitution may become endangered.
Another legitimate concern is the outpour of candidates for the 2010 elections. And again, as with all the previous elections, the main theme for this one is to choose the lesser evil. Everyone wants to become president and everyone is out there saying bad things about each other. Where is their delicadeza? I have always liked Mirriam Santiago but its her ‘balinmbing‘ qualities that makes me think twice.
Maybe there is something to look forward to this Christmas like that coveted QT with family and friends and maybe a vacation for a couple weeks; but when January comes, I bet its all going to be headaches and heart attacks. With the 2010 elections looming ever so near and the case of the Maguindanao massacre seeing no justice in sight yet, the prospect of having a happy new year is another question in my head.
But for what its worth, this Christmas can be merry if you can make it into one.
Surviving the unexpected
Back in 2006, the bus that I was on got robbed by ten to fifteen armed men.
Just last night, I almost drowned for wanting to STUDY on a Saturday.
It was not raining when I left my apartment for school. I arrived in the histology lab at around 9 am and only a handful of my classmates were there as many of them were in the gross lab. Class 2013A eventually grew in number as time passed. Since the histology lab had all its windows closed, I was not aware that rain was pouring ridiculously hard outside. One by one, I noticed that my classmates were coming inside the lab drenched from head to toe. It seemed obvious that the rain was getting heavier and I dared not ask since I was consumed with my slides.
At around 12 noon, Ivie and I decided to go home since (1) we were finished with the histology slides and (2) because we wanted to eat and then go home straight. As we were rolled the ends of our pants up, a classmate warned us that the water was already knee deep and that even the parking lots of the school and the hospital were getting flooded.
Afraid to get wet, we decided to just eat in the hospital cafe located in the basement floor of the medical and school building. The cafe was just several feet away from the parking lot and from the wall that separates UERM from Pasig River. Some of our classmates were already eating and were seated near the door. As we were lined up, a man in front of us shouted that the wall had collapsed. Almost immediately, all the people stood up and ran towards the door. The frenzy of seeing several cars being hurled at each other by the strong current was enough for everyone to panic. Of course, during times like this, one should not panic but even I was alarmed because the cold and murky water was rising fast. As I reached the door, the water was already at my thigh. I was helping an old woman walk towards the stairs when it suddenly hit me that I did not know how to swim. I felt chills running up my spine when I saw that we were still 6 to 7 meters away from safety and that I could not do anything for the old woman to quicken her pace. After much unnecessary pushing from the people behind us, I saw Christian held out his hand for me and with one big pull, I was safe.
Ivie and Fionna were waiting for us to go up the stairs. Everyone hurried up the third floor to watch in horror how the river consumed the school with her leptospirosis infested water.
We spent the night at the hospital in the PBL rooms. Honestly, I was not hungry at all but realized the need to stuff my stomach for fuel so I gladly ate whatever crackers the kind doctors and interns gave us to feed on. I could not sleep the entire night. Though the rain had ceased to pour, I cannot erase the thought that when I would wake up, there is a huge possibility that the water may have risen to the 3rd floor. And if that happened, I would really, really freeze in my tracks. But of course, nothing of that sort happened and I was glad that when I woke up, the water had subsided.
We got home safe, me and my classmates. We traversed the street together and parted ways, ironically, happy: happy that none of us got hurt and happy that we got through the ordeal as a whole.
I only pray that those who need help the most will exactly get what they need. And may I also implore the admin people of UERM to fix the break water and to make sure that it is STRONG and TALL ENOUGH to withstand situations like this.
111th Independence Day
I agree with Justice Puno when he said that we should not celebrate Independence Day. Its not because I belittle what our heroes have fought long and hard for but because I see that the country is still in shackles and enslaved by a corrupt woman president. It seems superficial to commemorate our Independence when we are being plagued by bad governance and an onslaught of evil public officials. What scares me the most is that if Con-Ass or House Resolution (HR) 1109 does happen in full circle, the entire country would have to suffer under PGMA for an indefinite number of years. If this happens, I think everyone would have wished they never let Erap go.
Does it not occur to the government that almost everyone is totally pissed off with their pursuance for Con-Ass? To amend the Constitution is not a bad thing but to do it before PGMA steps down is just ridiculously suspicious. Go here to see the Matrix House Proposed Charter Amendments as drafted by the House of Representatives in 2006.
Its like the House is scrambling in every direction to keep Her Shortness in power. They would also like the House and the Senate to jointly vote for the amendments in the 1987 Constitution. If the House and Senate should merge, there is an overwhelming probability that we get turned into PGMA’s Parliamentary wonderland. But the House cannot say that they are co-equal in a bicameral legislative body. The House is laden with PGMA fans while the Senate is the only remaining shield the people have against her evil plans. So as long as the Senate stands guard, we are still safe.
I have nothing against a parliamentary system but what worries me is that no good thing could ever come out from an innately corrupt President and her Government even if you change the system of governance. If the same Trapo people will stay in power, then expect not a grain of change. That would be asking for too much.
If power and stolen wealth is what these uber supportive Representatives stand to lose by not letting PGMA become Prime Minister, I often wonder if PGMA is the devil and if these Solons have already sold their souls to her in return for keeping her in power.
These are the Representatives who support Con-Ass and PGMA:
ABANTE, BIENVENIDO M. “BENNY” 6TH District Pandacan
ABLAN, ROQUE R. JR Ilocos Norte, 1st District
AGBAYANI, VICTOR AGUEDO E. Pangasinan, 2nd District
AGYAO, MANUEL, S Kalinga Province
ALBANO (III), RODOLFO T. Isabela, 1st District
ALFELOR, FELIX R. JR. 4th District, Camarines Sur
ALMARIO, THELMA Z. Davao Oriental, 2nd District
ALVAREZ, ANTONIO C. Palawan 1st District
ALVAREZ, GENARO RAFAEL M. JR. Negros Occidental, 6th District
AMANTE, EDELMIRO A. Agusan Del Norte, 2nd District
AMATONG, ROMMEL C. Compostela Valley, 2nd District
ANGPING, MARIA ZENAIDA B. Manila, 3rd District
ANTONINO, RODOLFO W. Nueva Ecija, 4th District
APOSTOL, TRINIDAD G. Leyte, 2nd District
AQUINO, JOSE S. (II) 1st District Agusan del Norte
ARAGO, MARIA EVITA R. 3rd district, Laguna
ARBISON, A MUNIR M. Sulu 2nd District
ARENAS, MA. RACHEL J. Pangasinan, 3rd District
ARROYO, DIOSDADO M. Camarines Sur, 1st District
ARROYO, IGNACIO T. 5th district Negros Occidental
ARROYO, JUAN MIGUEL M. 2nd District of Pampanga
BAGATSING, AMADO S. Manila 5th district
BALINDONG, PANGALIAN M. Lanao del Sur, 2nd District
BARZAGA, ELPIDIO F. JR. Cavite, 2nd District
BAUTISTA, FRANKLIN P. Davao Del Sur, 2nd District
BELMONTE, VICENTE F. JR. Lanao del Norte, 1st District
BICHARA, AL FRANCIS C. Albay, 2nd District
BIRON, FERJENEL G. Iloilo, 4th District
BONDOC, ANNA YORK P. Pampanga 4th District
BONOAN-DAVID, MA. THERESA B. Manila, 4th District
BRAVO, NARCISO R. JR. Masbate, 1st District
BRIONES, NICANOR M. AGAP Party list
BUHAIN, EILEEN ERMITA Batangas, 1st District
BULUT, ELIAS C. JR. Apayao Lone District
CAGAS (IV), MARC DOUGLAS C. Davao Del Sur, 1st District
CAJAYON, MARY MITZI L. Caloocan, 2nd District
CAJES, ROBERTO C. Bohol, 2nd District
CARI, CARMEN L. Leyte, 5th District
CASTRO, FREDENIL H. Capiz, 2nd District
CELESTE, ARTHUR F. Pangasinan, 1st District
CERILLES, ANTONIO H. Zamboanga Del Sur, 2nd District
CHATTO, EDGARDO M. Bohol, 1st District
CHONG, GLENN A. Biliran, Lone District
CHUNG-LAO, SOLOMON R. Ifugai, Lone District
CLARETE, MARINA C. Misamis Occidental, 1st District
CODILLA, EUFROCINO M. SR. Leyte, 4th District
COJUANCO, MARK O. Pangasinan, 5th District
COQUILA, TEODULO M. Eastern Samar, Lone District
CRISOLOGO, VINCENT P. Quezon City, 1st District
CUA, JUNIE E. Quirino, Lone District
CUENCO, ANTONIO V. Cebu City, 2nd District
DANGWA, SAMUEL M. Benguet, Lone District
DATUMANONG, SIMEON A. Maguindanao, Lone District
Dayanghirang, Nelson L. Davao Oriental, 1st District
DAZA, NANETTE C. Quezon City, 4th District
DAZA, PAUL R. Northern Samar, 1st District
DE GUZMAN, DEL R. Marikina City, 2nd District
DEFENSOR, ARTHUR D. SR. Iloilo, 3rd District
DEFENSOR, MATIAS V. JR. Quezon City, 3rd District
DEL MAR, RAUL V. Cebu City, 1st District
DIASNES, CARLO OLIVER D. (MD) Batanes, Lone District
DIMAPORO, ABDULLAH D. Lanao Del Norte, 2nd District
DOMOGAN, MAURICIO G. Baguio, Lone District
DUAVIT, MICHAEL JOHN R. Rizal, 1st District
DUENAS, HENRY M. JR. Taguig, 2nd District (2nd Councilor District)
DUMARPA, FAYSAH MRP. Lanao del Sur, 1st District
DUMPIT, THOMAS L. JR. La Union, 2nd District
DURANO (IV), RAMON H. 5th District, Cebu
ECLEO, GLENDA B. Dinagat Islands, Lone District
EMANO, YEVGENY VICENTE B. Misamis Oriental, 2nd District
ENVERGA, WILFRIDO MARK M. Quezon, 1st District
ESTRELLA, CONRADO M. (III) Pangasinan, 6th District
ESTRELLA, ROBERT RAYMUND M. ABONO Party List
FERRER, JEFFREY P. Negros Occidental, 4th District
GARAY, FLORENCIO C. Surigao Del Sur, 2nd District
GARCIA, ALBERT S. Bataan, 2nd District.
GARCIA, PABLO JOHN F. Cebu, 3rd District
GARCIA, PABLO P. Cebu, 2nd District
GARCIA, VINCENT J. Davao City, 2nd District
GARIN, JANETTE L. Iloilo, 1st District
GATCHALIAN, REXLON T. Valenzuela City, 1st District
GATLABAYAN, ANGELITO C. Antipolo City, 2nd District
GO, ARNULFO F. Sultan Kudarat, 2nd District
GONZALES, AURELIO D. JR. Pampanga 3rd District
GONZALES, RAUL T. JR. Ilo ilo City
GULLAS, EDUARDO R. Cebu, 1st District
GUNIGUNDO, MAGTANGGOL T. Valenzuela City 2nd District
HOFER, DULCE ANN K. Zamboanga Sibugay, 2nd District
JAAFAR, NUR G. Tawi-Tawi, Lone District
JALA, ADAM RELSON L. Bohol, 3rd District
JALOSJOS, CESAR G. Zamboanga del Norte, 3rd District
JALOSJOS-CARREON, CECILIA G. Zamboanga del Norte, 1st District
JIKIRI, YUSOP H. Sulu, 1st District
KHO, ANTONIO T. Masbate, 2nd District
LABADLABAD, ROSENDO S. Zamboanga del Norte, 2nd District
LACSON, JOSE CARLOS V. Negros Occidental, 3rd District
LAGDAMEO, ANTONIO F. JR. Davao del Norte, 2nd District
LAPUS, JECI A. Tarlac, 3rd District
LAZATIN, CARMELO F. Pampanga, 1st District
LIM, RENO G. Albay, 3rd District
LOPEZ, JAIME C. Manila, 2nd District
MADRONA, ELEANORA JESUS F. Romblon, Lone District
MAGSAYSAY, MARIA MILAGROS H. Zambales, 1st District
MALAPITAN, OSCAR G. Caloocan, 1st District
MAMBA, MANUEL N. Cagayan, 3rd District
MANGUDADATU, DATU PAKUNG S. Sultan Kudarat,
MARANON, ALFREDO D. III Negros Occidental, 2nd District
MATUGAS, FRANCISCO T. Surigao del Norte, 1st District
MENDOZA, MARK LEANDRO L. Batangas, 4th District
MERCADO, ROGER G. Southern Leyte, Lone District
MIRAFLORES, FLORENCIO T. Aklan, Lone District
NAVA, JOAQUIN CARLOS RAHMAN A. (MD) Guimaras, Lone District
NICOLAS, REYLINA G. Bulacan, 4th District
NOGRALES, PROSPERO C. Davao City, 1st District
OLAñO, ARREL R. Davao Del Norte, 1st District
ONG, EMIL L. Northern Samar, 2nd District
ORTEGA, VICTOR FRANCISCO C. La Union, 1st District
PABLO, ERNESTO C. APEC Party List
PANCHO, PEDRO M. Bulacan, 2nd District
PANCRUDO, CANDIDO P. JR. Bukidnon, 1st District
PICHAY, PHILIP A. Surigao Del Sur, 1st District
PIñOL, BERNARDO F. JR. North Cotabato, 2nd District
PUNO, ROBERTO V. Antipolo City, 1st District
RAMIRO, HERMINIA M. Misamis Occidental, 2nd District
REMULLA, JESUS CRISPIN C. Cavite, 3rd District
REYES, CARMENCITA O. Marinduque, Lone District
REYES, VICTORIA H. Batangas, 3rd District
ROBES, ARTURO G. San Jose Del Monte City, Lone District
Rodriguez-Zaldarriaga, Adelina Rizal, 2nd District
ROMAN, HERMINIA B. Bataan, 1st District
ROMARATE, GUILLERMO A. JR. Surigao del Norte, 2nd District
ROMUALDEZ, FERDINAND MARTIN G. Leyte, 1st District
ROMUALDO, PEDRO Camiguin, Lone District
ROMULO, ROMAN T. Pasig City, Lone District
ROXAS, JOSE ANTONIO F. Pasay City
SALIMBANGON, BENHUR L. Cebu, 4th District
SALVACION JR., ANDRES D. Leyte, 3rd District
SAN LUIS, EDGAR S. Laguna, 4th District
SANDOVAL, ALVIN S. Malabon-Navotas, Lone District
SANTIAGO, JOSEPH A. Catanduanes, Lone District
SANTIAGO, NARCISO D. (III) ARC Party List
SEACHON-LANETE, RIZALINA L. 3rd district of Masbate
SEARES-LUNA, CECILIA M. Abra, Lone District
SILVERIO, LORNA C. Bulacan, 3rd District
SINGSON, ERIC D. Ilocos Sur, 2nd District
SINGSON, RONALD V. Ilocos Sur, 1st District
SOLIS, JOSE G. Sorsogon, 2nd District
SOON-RUIZ, NERISSA CORAZON Cebu, 6th District
SUAREZ, DANILO E. Quezon, 3rd District
SUSANO, MARY ANN L. Quezon City, 2nd District
SY-ALVARADO, MA. VICTORIA R. Bulacan, 1st District
SYJUCO, JUDY J. 2nd Dsitrict, Iloilo
TALINO-MENDOZA, EMMYLOU J. North Cotabato, 1st District
TAN, SHAREE ANN T. Samar, 2nd District
TEODORO, MARCELINO R. Marikina City, 1st District
TEODORO, MONICA LOUISSE PRIETO Tarlac, 1st District
TEVES, PRYDE HENRY A. Negros Oriental, 3rd District
TUPAS, NEIL C. JR. Iloilo, 5th District
UNGAB, ISIDRO T. Davao City, 3rd District
UY, EDWIN C. Isabela, 2nd District
UY, REYNALDO S. Samar, 1st District
UY, ROLANDO A. Cagayan De Oro City, Lone District
VALDEZ, EDGAR L. APEC Party List
VALENCIA, RODOLFO G. Oriental Mindoro, 1st District
VARGAS, FLORENCIO L. Cagayan, 2nd District
VILLAFUERTE, LUIS R. Camarines Sur, 2nd District
VILLAROSA, MA. AMELITA C. Occidental Mindoro, Lone District
VIOLAGO, JOSEPH GILBERT F. Nueva Ecija, 2nd District
YAP, JOSE V. Tarlac, 2nd District
YU, VICTOR J. Zamboanga Del Sur, 1st District
ZAMORA, MANUEL E. 1st District, Compostela Valley
ZIALCITA, EDUARDO C. Parañaque, 1st District
I cannot really say that PGMA is a genie because she is not nice, she does not grant everyone’s wishes for free and she definitely does not have blue for her skin color.
Technically speaking, PGMA MAY NOT RUN FOR PRESIDENCY; that is if Con-Ass does happen. Because once she steps down, she could then run for Congress and be the country’s first Prime Minister. So when her camp says that she will not run for presidency, believe them.
Tayong Dalawa part 2
The first few months of this show was okay but after finding out that JR (Anderson) and Dave (Cuenca) were really twins, I just lost it. Here I was thinking that the writers would not resort to this usual twist and become another unoriginal piece of something. And what has the two PMAers become? Dave has been dishonorably discharged and JR is still doing investigative work to find out who killed their dad. It’s only a good thing that Dave’s family is filthy rich because he is now a manager in their supermarket business or something.
Aside from this let down, Dave and JR now share something else other than Audrey (Chiu) and their parents: kidneys. Yes, Dave gave his kidney to his twin to have Audrey marry him in exchange. In the real world, I don’t think I’ve met someone who would actually agree to marry under this circumstance and I don’t think there is anyone insane enough to even attempt this sort of thing. I just don’t know, really, but you have to give the show some slack because it has to be a drama. And a drama is not a drama without the unnecessary pain and suffering of the characters.
And speaking of pain and suffering, Dave gets the most of the pie. I mean, he’s got one less kidney, his wife is in love with his twin and his half brother, Ramon, (Martin) was involved in the robbery that got his dad shot. Aside from being cheated on by Audrey and JR while being held captive by the enemies, it was JR’s fault why he got abducted in the first place: JR flew the chopper which could have lifted Dave to safety.If there is anyone in this show that needs sympathy, it should be Dave. And it’s no wonder he needed psych treatment.
I want to ditch this show and not watch it entirely but my mom insists in seeing this show till the end. Because of this, my sister and I had not watched any decent HBO or Star World movies since my mom got addicted to it. I have to admit that Marleen (Picache) and Ingrid (Isidro) are pretty entertaining to watch since they bicker on the slightest of reasons. Ramon (Martin), on the other hand, is now becoming EVIL-er and devilishly cuter than ever (Yehey!).
I’m just happy I wouldn’t be seeing the show for long since I have to go to med school this June 8.
P.S.
Katorse? I’m not so keen on seeing this one since EJ Falcon (tama ba?) will be in it. He looks awful when he acts.
The 2010 presidentiable list
(clockwise starting from top left: Bayani Fernando, Ed Panlilio, Gilbert Teodoro, Dick Gordon, Chiz Escudero, Noli de Castro, Mar Roxas, Jojo Binay, Loren Legarda, and Manny Villar)
Just looking at this composite picture makes me gasp for air because (1) it makes me want to boycott the 2010 elections and (2) it makes me realize how doomed our country will be come next year.
These candidates or would-be candidates are not all bad. Personally, I could go for Roxas if he doesn’t marry Ms. Korina Sanchez. I just don’t see Sanchez as a likable first lady because I find her rather ‘plastic’ and I just hate how she never ever comes out like a real person in any of her shows. And let’s be honest, they could have never picked a much time to publicly announce their wedding plans, right? I don’t think Sanchez would win Roxas enough votes to make him president. Maybe he might even lose some because of her. But even if Roxas has a good track record, he seems unlikable for the position too. I don’t know, he seems boring kasi even with that ‘Padyak pa, Padyak!’ commercial of his.
I love Binay and I love what he does here in Makati but I wouldn’t want to give him away for a position which would make him more susceptible to corruption. Not that he isn’t but he could aim for the position by starting out small like running for senate first. Look at Palparan and his majestic entry into the senate, right? Anything is possible. Besides, I have a bad feeling Erap would make a come back if Binay comes to office.
I once liked Gordon but now he seems angry and envious because he’s been left out a number of times by Pulse Asia as a popular candidate for presidency. He’s been attacking the other candidates for flashing their commercials on t.v. because he wants one too, probably.
On that note, I really really hate how these people advertise their wares on t.v. as if we don’t know the obvious. What these ads show us is how much money these dudes have and not their abilities to become president. It’s just lame how they could put themselves out there and do whatever cheap trick to entice us into voting for them. Does sponsoring the OFWs’ tickets for home make Villar a good president? Of course not but it shows how fabulously rich this creep is. Maybe his ad campaign says that if Villar could sponsor plane tickets then maybe he could pay for the country’s debt at WB too. But then again he would need to continue the C5 project to make sure he makes some money on his own.
Legarda for me has always been sour graping at De Castro since she lost the VP bid. This is pathetic. How lame could these two losers get? De Castro doesn’t do much except pat Manny Pacquiao on the back whenever he wins a new boxing title while Legarda does nothing but to, what else, relieve and recount how De Castro and PGMA stole her’s and FPJ’s would-be positions. Come on, tell us something we don’t know and even if Legarda tells her story a thousand times, PGMA will not step down. I mean, not even Lozada, could bring her down. Try targeting someone with a conscience not the devil, dear.
I’m not sure if Panlilio will run for president but I’ve heard sometime ago that he is considering the jump. I’m sure he is nice and that he means well but running for president cannot be good, much like allowing Pacquiao run wild in the Senate. There’s a good reason why the church is separate from the state: they have conflicting ideas. Generally, these two entities do not have the same definition for ‘good’ let alone have a mutual solution for cleaning and effectively running this country.
I like Escudero but I think he’s not ready for the position yet. I’m not even sure if he is running but he should ferment himself in the Senate first to gain experience. He’s still young and he has a lot of potential so he shouldn’t rush in with some of the other fools. Kiko Pangilinan might be Escudero’s rival when he does decide to run for president in the future.
And as if these people are not enough, Teodoro also wants to become president. Well, he should run because PGMA says so. I don’t really know anything about him apart from being the administration’s bet for 2010.
Ping Lacson is being the nicest gentleman of them all for letting Chief Justice Puno run instead. That is if Puno does run. I am all for Puno‘s moral force but asking him to run for presidency may seem too much for him. But then again, look at his CV and see for yourself if he can deliver. But having a very good CV cannot guarantee anything, much more be a good president.
Maybe I am pessimistic or just too tired of seeing the same old foolish people try to run for office and bring the country down to a whole new level. Hay. If these choices are not enough for you, add these two people pa:
I believe in my heart that no court order or pardon ruling could ever prevent Erap from running for president again. And I believe in my ass that PGMA will stop at nothing to own this country by virtue of stealing.
The future for this country seems so bright, so frighteningly bright.
ABS-CBN’S Tayong Dalawa
For the record, I am not a Kim-Gerald fan nor am I a Jake Cuenca groupie.
It all started when my brother saw the telenovela’s trailer on ABS-CBN and had a laugh about the network’s attempt in doing a show like that inside the holy PMA grounds. My kuya, being a PMMAer, was curious as to how the two male leads would act being a ‘plebo’ and toughen it out with the academy’s notorious training regimen. To be honest, we did not care about the plot because shows like this would always come out rehashed and half-baked.
To be honest the plot isn’t so bad at all; typical, yes, but quite realistic. The show is realistic in its storyline but not having Anderson and Cuenca play PMA cadets. Of course, the show wouldn’t revolve around PMA but the selective scenes e.g. the training and that awfully staged ambush while doing their military exercise, were just blah. Not awful, but lack-luster. The show had the opportunity to show the world how hard and exciting life is inside the academy but instead they showed us nothing. The PMA aspect of the show is too little, too insignificant to make the two male leads wear the PMA uniform in this ad material. I mean, making them wear those uniforms in the main campaign ad means that it is a vital part of the show when the truth is, it is not. The scenes with Anderson and Cuenca inside the academy were not enough to evoke any sympathy from me. They were just actors inside the academy; that’s all. I also find it funny that their upperclassmen were darn too nice to them. And those privileges Anderson kept on having even if he wasn’t a first class cadet. Goodness me. Even going around having a date with Kim Chiu in casual clothes. Oh well. If the academy wanted to recruit more people, then they should forget about using the show as an avenue for propaganda. The academy has done so well in the past without ‘Tayong Dalawa’ using her name.
But the redeeming factor of the show, ironically, is its cast. I think it had a lot to do with having the veteran actors do most of the heavy acting. Anderson, Cuenca and Chiu have a long way to go before they could deliver their lines with sparkle. I mean, they’re still newbies after all so let’s just give some space for them to improve. I also love the fact that the show has Coco Martin (insert screams and kilig-shaken hands and birit to the max sigaw ng ‘Ang cute mo!‘) to make me stay glued to the t.v.
That Papaya whitening product
Sunday is a family day and by all means, we follow that by law religiously. We don’t go out much on a Sunday; instead we cuddle up inside the house, eat a lot and watch dvds or play xbox 360 in my kuya’s room. Lately, PGR 4 has been driving me and my siblings crazy but that’s not the idea behind this post: it’s about a certain ‘whitening’ product my kuya bought from a doctor while he was bored to death waiting for his seminar to end.
Well, this certain doctor attests to the strength of this whitening product because he’s used it himself daw. Since I’m beginning to get frustrated in not being able to win any gold medals in PGR4, I started to use the product and see for myself the ‘miraculous’ effects it has on the skin. We were all laughing because we couldn’t understand why my kuya would buy such a bogus looking, ‘miraculous’ whitening product for a cool 50 pesos. He said that he bought the product just for fun. Yeah right, brother dear.
The product is laced with head-splitting grammar and spine-tingling promises of eradicating ‘horniness’ in just one minute. But what the heck, we still tried it for fun hehe.
We didn’t see any changes in just one try. Maybe your supposed to try it like twice or thrice a day for a couple of years before you get your skin damaged or something. It isn’t safe to try just any product because its cheap and that you’ve nothing better to do than buy something fishy. I’m not sure if its a Chinese product, but it looks like it.
Anyway, stay away from this sort of product and don’t do what we idiots have done just for fun. It isn’t safe and it isn’t the wise thing to do. But it sure spells out an entire day of laughing.
Quotable quotes from UP Profs
I got this through an email a couple of weeks back. This is a compilation of quotes from UP profs from different campuses. There’s no way of verifying these quotes but some of it I do recognize from my UPLB profs. Some of the quotes poke fun at other universities but I hope everyone is okay with a little humor. I’ll apologize in advance if this post will offend anyone who would read it.
Have a kick Isko’t Iska! =)
*All caps not mine.
———–
“you know, if you really wanted to pass this class, you have to appreciate real beauty… so look here in front rather than your seatmate’s low neckline..”
-spcm1 (comm3) prof, sir navera (uplb) to a classmate who kept looking at this pretty classmate
“kung iu-uno nyo subject na ‘to, mapupunta kayo sa World Bank at CitiBank NY… pag tinake 2 mo nmn, pwede ka ng maging congressman. ..” (referrring to now Senator Miguel Zubiri)
- prof jimmy williams from cem (uplb)
“I am a liar… if you believe me, you’ll go to hell.. “
-Prof Dwight Diestro (uplb)
“The aim of policy making is to invoke action! Because action speaks louder than words! You do not just say I love you. You say: If you love me, enter me! “
- Dr. Alfonso Pacquing
“Class, next week na lang ung result sa exam nyo. I am having a hard time checking it. I will seek first the divine guidance on what to do about it. Class dont worry about your grade. Let me worry about it.”
- Sir de jesus, envi sci 1
(valentines day)
“Ano ba yan? Students ba kayo ng UP? Bakit ang bababa ng scores niyo? Siguro wala kayong date ngayong valentines kaya ganito kayo. Losers!!! When i was your age i had a date. Hindi ba naapektuhan ng UP FAIR
euphoria ng grades niyo? Parang di kayo masaya…”
(sabay matching tapon ng quizzes sa sahig)
“I won’t record this. Go find a date.”
(sabay walk out.)
- Sir Doliente, BA
Ma’am: Many people believe that we, psychology graduates can read minds…
(silence)
Actually, we can.
Class: Weh.. Sample..
Ma’am: Right now, you think that I’m bluffin
- Ma’am Chei Billedo, Psych
“I don’t give surprise long exams. all exams are announced. Halimbawa, Class, mageexam tayo, NGAYON NA!”
- Ma’am Chei
“The human body is 70% water. Kaya wala kayong kasaysayan lahat. Pag may kaaway ka, sabihin mo sa kanya, TUBIG KA LANG!!!
- Dr. Recio
“Oo, nagpapaulan ako ng uno… baket? aanhin ko ba nun? di naman ako yayaman dun.”
- Sir Atoy Navarro, histo I (uplb)
(commenting on a thesis of a senior student)
‘Yang thesis mo? .. Mamamatay ka!! Mamamatay ka!!’
- Dr. llanes, UPM.
“Nasa bandang gilid ang fallopian tube. Kaya kung gusto niyong magka-anak ng asawa niyo, dapat nakatagilid kayo habang gumagawa.”
- Ma’am Meggie, Zoo 10
“Last sem was the first time that I gave a grade of 5, and it felt good!!!”
Prof Goldie, Comm II, circa 1998, first day of class
atheist ako, pero pag nasa bahay, nagro rosary kami ng Nanay ko, eh kung magalit sa kin yun.
- Socio 11 Prof
“you do not fall in love; you rise in love. That’s how you love rationally.”
- Dr. FG david
“Try to die! Try to die!”
- sir billones, on a student who is palpitating while taking the exam.
He claims that after incident refreshed na lagi yung estudyante. If I know, pag naaalala ng estudyanteng yun yung moment na yun, kaya siya laging refreshed, kasi natatawa siya pag naaalala niya iyon.
“Anong molars? You don’t say molars because it is an adjective! Do you say beautifuls?”
- ma’am ilao, to a student who said “n molars”
“Kahit magpakamatay ka pa di mo masasagot yang problem set na yan dahil pang-157 (phy chem II) yan!”
- ibid
“Do not memorize! Analyze!”
- doc nic her students never to memorize reaction mechanisms
“Kaya nga ideal eh, hindi siya nangyayari sa totoong buhay. Pero an approximation is good enough”
- sir engle, on ideal and real systems
“Don’t take the BAR and yourselves too seriously. baka mabalitaan nalang namin na nag-o-oral summation kayo sa Luneta. O lumulutang-lutang sa Pasig River. Enjoy yourselves, relax, and read at least 15 hours a day. Nakakabobo ang sobrang tulog. MAg relax ka habang nagbabasa. Magrelax habang nagmi-memorize. “
“Pag nananaba ka sa oras ng exams, ibig sabihin di ka papasa.”
“Oh the BAR isn’t scary. It’s terrifying. It might even kill you.”
“Wow. Rape-able.”
“Stand up Miss ___ so that I might see the contours of your body.”
“Mga engineers? Nako. Bihira pumapasa sa BAR.”
“UP ka nag-undergrad? Bright ka ba?”
“Sa mga taga-UP lang ako bilib eh. Pagpasok nila sa lawschool, hindi sila disoriented. Bilib ako sa study habits na meron yang mga batang yan. Some of them look like they eat kamote thrice a day, pero ang
utak, di ututin!” (ewan ko kung matutuwa ako dito o hindi)
sabi ng aming dean who is 80 yrs old, “class you’re laughing now, but i will predecease you all”
prof: O, meron na bang nakapunta sa inyong XXX
class: (tahimik)
prof: (medyo nadisappoint) Ano?! Puro na lang ba kayo aral? Aral na
lang kayo ng aral, ha? Wala na kayong napupuntahan kakaaral niyo!
same prof: Nakita niyo na ba ang Hoover dam?
class: (tahimik uli)
prof: Hehehehe, ang yabang ko talaga!
Second day of classes
Same Prof: (kinuha ang box ng colored chalks) Ano ba naman ito…
(tapos iniitsa sa lamesa yung mga dark colored chalks)
class: (tahimik na nagmamasid)
Prof: Class, sulatan niyo ang manufacturer ng chalk na ito, at sabihing tanggalin na ang mga walang kwentang kulay na ito…. brown, green, violet. hindi makikita ito sa board. Convince them
class: (tahimik at gulat)
Prof: and .25 incentive sa final grade niyo!
terror prof after an exam (last day na din ng class..): ok class.. see you next sem!
“IE? Di naman engineering yun e”
-Thesis adviser
Classmate: Ma’am, pwede po bang next week na kami mag report?
Ma’am: Alam mo, God is good. And I am God. So yes, pwede next week.
galing kay sir U eliserio during creative writing class…
“try everything once except incest”
one day pumasok ng room, galit na galit. hinagis ang bag sa table, nagwawala sa harap ng room dahil hindi daw nasagot ng previous class niya ang question niya. kaya dapat daw masagot namin, ang makasagot
may plus points. kapag walang makasagot, lagot kami. ang tanong….
“class, sinong lalaking artista dun sa TV show na wonder years”?
“Mamatay na mangopya…saka ang hindi maka-100, bobo!”.
“im gay. so gay i could show you my penis because it is but an accessory to my body”
- jean navera, spcm1 (uplb)
FIRST DAY OF CLASSES: “Kung may boyfriend o girlfriend kayo na hindi taga-UP, hiwalayan niyo na agad. Walang pupuntahan yan. Hindi kayo magkaka-intindihan. Tapos yung mga anak niyo, magiging bobo. Gusto
niyo ba yun?”
ANOTHER PROF: “Hoy girls, wag kayong kukuha ng boyfriend dito sa UP. Pare-parehas tayong mahirap dito. Kumuha kayo ng mayaman. 80% of the child’s intelligence comes from the Mother naman eh. Kayo guys, wag
kayo kukuha ng bobong babae. Kahit matalino kayo, magiging bobo anak niyo.”
sa PHILO: ”I THINK THEREFORE I AM FROM UP!”
“Class, kaya mahal ang bayad sa mga professors sa ibang school kasi ang bobobo ng mga estudyante dun. Dyuskoh, I used to teach there… at lumuluha talaga ako ng dugo bago maintindihan ng mga students yung
sinasabi ko. Ang mahal nga ng bayad, magkakasakit ka naman sa panga kakaulit ng lessons! Wag na lang! Dito na ko sa UP, at least nagkakaintindihan tayo. Diba?”
The following quotes are from Dr. David:
“Meanings we find are the meanings we make.”
“WHAT YOU LEARN IN UP IS TO GO ON AND NEVER GIVE UP. THAT IF THERE BE ONE PERSON LEFT STANDING, LET IT BE ME. LET ATENEO FALL FIRST BEFORE UP…”
“The measure of a man is how many doors he has opened to other people, especially to those he doesn’t know.”
“To be born is to die. In between they grow and multiply like flies.6.2 billion people in the world. Kadiri, ano?”
“Why not life? Why call it soul? Call a spade a spade.”
“Earth is the only heaven we can know.”
“religion is a successful economic institution”
“Do not live long enough to be worthless.”
“Domestication of the human male is one of the greatest achievement of the human race.”
“I do not know many. I only know enough to teach my classes.”
“We do not accept anyone here in class except for those who are members of a certain minority group. For example, gays are part of a minority group, bakla ka ba? If you admit to this class that you are gay, then I’ll admit you”
- Prof “hail to the chair”, to a guy student na nagpre-prerog
“kapatid ng sinungaling ang magnanakaw.
“ergo, gma’s marriage to mike arroyo is null and void ab initio.”
consti law class, 1st sem, AY 2005-06
“running for summa ka? mapapagod ka lang.”
“Si Miriam, crush ko ‘yun dati. Muntikan na maging kami, kaso nasiraan ng ulo, kaya ‘yun, iba ang asawa ko.”
“Class, gusto ko kayong i-train na mag-English, so when you’re here in class, magsalita kayo ng English! Ako lang ang exempted dahil matanda na ako at ako ang teacher!”
Ma’am Vitriolo (2nd to the last meeting)
Okay class, next week, we start the lecture proper.
more of Ma’am Ilao
“Hindi mahirap makakuha ng UNO sa class ko. yung gumradweeeyt last year na Magna Cum Laude ng Biochem, uno siya sakin sa Chem 18″
Sabi ng Prof dahil may kaklase akong recite ng recite w/o raising her hand
“I think this is the first time i have a student w/ tourette in my class…”
Recite parin ng recite yung student
“Wow the ejaculatory comments just don’t stop!”
from a socsci1 prof: “Birds of the same feather FLOCK together…don’ t forget the L”.
“I’ll strangle you, strangle you really hard, smack right in your jugular (pause ng mga 5 seconds), you do know where your jugular is?”
“Be ready with your speech because I am going to lambaste you!”
-sir navera spcm 1 (uplb)
‘bakit parang napakaligaya ng klase niyo? maging sad naman kayo, 5 mins.’ – prof ko sa math 100.
“well of course when you sell your soul you have to make an elaborate justification to make yourself feel good.”
-Sir Walden Bello, Socio 127,
“look at me i’m 43 years old pero ang lakas lakas ko pa. eh kung walang gulay eh di kakain na lang ako ng damo. kung wala eh di tubig, kung wala mag-ipon na lang ako ng laway.”
-Sir Tiamson, Italian 11
When you graduate, then you begin to live.
-Dr. Carmen Jimenez, Psych 118
Prof:”Mr. Gatbunton, why are you late?!”
Student:”Sorry Mam, galing pa ako Las Pinas.”
Prof: “Ladies, don’t marry somebody from Las Pinas because they have
bamboo organs!!” -Prof Soresca in spanish 1
“there are only two countries who still use Fahrenheit.. the United States of America and Liberia… a pathetic country in africa”
- Sir Argete
Marx is more Christian than Christ and Christ is more Marxist than Marx.
- Sir Lanuza.
Class: Sir, sa exams po ba nagbibigay kayo ng partial points?
Prof: Hmm, if I see partial wisdom.
“It’s okay to smoke inside my class. As long as you don’t breathe it out.”
-Dr. Obsioma, Biodiversity
“Oh, this is good. It’s poetic because it’s perfectly stupid.”
-Ricardo de Ungria last week on my classmate’s work.
Prof: Did I remind the class last meeting that we’re going to have an exam today?
Class: (dead air)
Prof: Ok, it seems I forgot to remind the class that we’re going to have an exam today. I’m giving you five minutes then to buy a bluebook. We’re going to have an exam today.
sir tiamson (span 11)
“ayan, di ka makasagot. yung bakal sa ngipin mo naapektuhan na yung pagsasalita mo”
————-
Undas 2008
My family is not a big fan of the pinoy scary movies that Cinema One dishes out during Undas. The cable channel shows modern movies like Shake, Rattle and Roll 8, Text and Feng Shui, which, to be honest, are quite boring and bland.
I hated how the newest Shake, Rattle and Roll (SRR) turned out, even with the ‘new’ CGIs, special effects and with their ‘all-star’ cast. It just wasn’t the same as seeing Manilyn Reynes do her stuff around aswangs and other creepy monsters.
I could still remember a couple of SRRs she did but forgot the numbers because she did so many of them. One was with Edu Manzano as her prof but he turned out to be a monster and another was with Ana Roces belonging to a clan of aswangs who wanted Manilyn for their yearly sacrifice or something. Oh, and that story about the wating, the monster who lives in trees, and Undin, the green and slimy marine creature who resided in the toilet bowl, were just really scary.
Other awesome SRR stories are: (1) Juday as a child ghost who died in Ruffa’s closet because her older brother, Aljon Jimenez, locked her there by accident, (2) Kris Aquino in that story about the creepy Yaya and (3) Joey Marquez and that evil mangkukulam lady doctor. Well, at least these are what I could still remember.
Aside from the SRR series, Impaktita, Patayin sa sindak si Barbara (the original version) and Halimaw sa Banga are my all time favorite Pinoy horror flicks. Gosh, I’d cry everytime Halimaw sa Banga would come up on t.v. especially when the halimaw would just grab anyone near the banga. Because at that time, we still had two huge earthen jugs inside the house and I would imagine that we had our own halimaw in our own banga.
Aside from the great storylines, the previous SRRs and other classic pinoy horror flicks had an awesome line-up of stars like Herbert Bautista, who did the first SRR, Manilyn Reynes (of course) and Jean Garcia (Impaktita). Even with crappy special effects, these flicks did so well as oppose to great (?) CGIs but lack-luster performances and stupid storylines like Text (you could tell, I hate this movie to the bone).
And I just miss MGB’s Undas Specials.
Recession
Recession is not everyone’s favorite word right now. It bites, it stings and it leaves everyone in misery. Analysts say that the US and European recession will affect the Philippines in full swing next year. And we thought this couldn’t get any worse.
Worse is when, side by side, corrupt government officials are caught wisking the people’s money off to conferences in Moscow or when well-known ‘architects’ are sent straight to a posh hospital instead of being taken to the Senate. In times of crisis, we see people in power steal our money right under our noses. Its a shame how these crooks have ‘honorable’ next to their names when in reality they do the exact opposite.
The Senate should have more balls because, although most of the senators are male, they lack the libido to use their sworn powers to do the rule of law some justice. I mean, come on, Villar is just playing doggy along witih Verzosa and Puno. What ‘contingency fund’ and ‘intelligence fund’ are these idiots saying? What sort of drama is Bolante cooking up inside St. Lukes? These people take us for fools.
Is it too much to ask for honesty and decency from people in power? The hell with Villar and his OFW commercial; we all know its an early campaign material for 2010. The same goes for Legarda and her corruption themed commercial, for Bayani Fernando and his ugh* grouchy MMDA posters and that irritable pa-gwapo pose his got and for Vilma and Bong’s possible clash for the VP.
Whether that 700++ million was used for PGMA’s campaign or whether that excess 7M was truly intended for ‘intelligence’ crap or whatever, the people wouldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t, that’s for sure.
Baby Shower
Mon (the one in green) is the youngest in our little goodie-goodie group of friends from high school. She’s two years younger than the rest of us (except for Ivy hehe) and that explains her sort of sixteen-ish, innocent-slash-Juno look. Back in high school, while everyone in the group were still hung up with anime characters, Rico Yan, textmates-turned-pseudo-boyfriends, and cutie upper classmen with similar dos like the BSBs and Nsync, Mon was already with Jose. They’ve been together since and nothing, not even ‘extracurricular’ activities, has separated them.
I have to say kudos to Mon for sticking up for her man, even though I and Kaka and Ivy and Fresh and We and She have constantly nagged about Jose being this and that and not being this and that. You get it. She’s a strong woman and knows what she wants and I believe in my heart she’ll do fine. We all do.
Break a leg Mon!
I just hope no one in our barkada follows too soon…Ivy…? =)
Overnight
girls just wanna have fun.
Get your cam, call your friends and strike a pose: instant coffee amidst doing an SP.
Eraserheads Reunion Concert
Wish my sister and I could be there but since Marlboro backed out, the frenzy of ticket sales and venue resets were just too crazy for us. Good thing MTV Philippines stepped in when they did or else a riot of E-heads fans would have burned a Marlboro effigy everywhere in the country. The ticket prices were very reasonable, costing just around 800php and 1300php. But then again, I wish we were free from commitments that night or we could have been seen egging our way into the slam pits, if there were any.
It was very unfortunate that Ely Buendia had to be rushed to Makati Med because of chest pains he experienced in the middle of their performance. Fellow listers say that Ely just suddenly stopped playing, sat and bowed his head. Instantly, the lights went out and after a couple of minutes, his sister went up the stage to announce that he had been rushed to the hospital.
Along with their fans and family, I also pray for Ely’s full recovery.
The reunion concert, even if it was tragically cut short, was one mean feat. I mean, to be able to put those four cool demigods of Pinoy rock into one show, for one night, is an achievement alone. Everyone thought this event was never going to happen but lo and behold, the seemingly impossible did happen. Hordes of fans are certainly keeping their fingers crossed and keeping their breaths in for another reunion concert. And this time, we all hope and pray, everything will run smoothly.
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