One Year After Typhoon Pablo

Increased support is needed if families are to fully recover from the impact of Typhoon Bopha on their livelihoods, Save the Children says. 

Photo from Save the Children website

A year after the category 5 typhoon – the highest category for a storm – the children’s aid agency says tens of thousands are still struggling to find work to feed their families. The Typhoon, which struck on 4th of December 2012, affected over six million people and left nearly 2000 dead or missing. 

The Catch 22 That is Mark Solis

Forgive my hard stance on this one.

I cringe over the new word netizens have coined the last few days inspired by one Mark Joseph Solis – “SOLISIFIED”. The word became synonymous to plagiarism.

The photo that earned him the fame but was not his in the first place (Rappler.com)

Davao's "Bato" (The Rock)

For all Dabawenyos, his name has become synonymous to a man of action - an officer that the common people can rely on and a nemesis to criminals. His 18 months term as Davao City Police Director will soon end in a few days following his transfer and promotion to Camp Crame as Chief of Staff, Police Training Service of the Philippine National Police. I may not know him personally, but as a blogger and Dabawenya by heart, this post is my tribute to one tough guy called "Bato".

PSSupt. Ronald "Bato" M. dela Rosa (source)

I am woman, hear my vote!

Allow me to be political with this blog post.

It’s a few days more before elections and everyone seems to me are in a frenzy. Philippine elections and the drama that goes with it can easily rival the soap operas being aired now. Now I am not a political blogger and it is a topic I try to steer away from because it is not my forte. I will definitely vote on May 13^th and even though I am no politico – I will go with the frenzy and campaign for the women’s party list Gabriela.

Gabriela Women’s Party is a sectoral party dedicated to promoting the rights and welfare of marginalized and under-represented Filipino women through participation in the country’s electoral system and organs of governance. It is a sectoral party composed of women 18 years and above, having varied occupations, education, interests, ethnic origin, religious affiliation, and sexual orientation. The Gabriela Women’s Party seeks to harness the potential, initiative, skills, and leadership of marginalized women towards empowerment, justice, and equality. Gabriela has been at the forefront of legislation that protect and uphold women like the RA 9262 or Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act of 2004 and the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.

Repost: Love letter to Filipinos by Dr. David Harwell

This letter was written to all of us by an American Dr. David H. Harwell and appeared in Philippine Daily Inquirer Commentary on February 17, 2013. I read it and had goosebumps. I am re-posting it here hoping that it will warm your brown spirit as it did in mine.

-o0o-

I am writing to thank Filipinos for the way you have treated me here, and to pass on a lesson I learned from observing the differences between your culture and mine over the years.

I am an expatriate worker. I refer to myself as an OAW, an overseas American worker, as a bad joke. The work I do involves a lot of traveling and changing locations, and I do it alone, without family. I have been in 21 countries now, not including my own. It was fun at first.  Now, many years later, I am getting tired. The Philippines remains my favorite country of all, though, and I’d like to tell you why before I have to go away again.

I have lived for short periods here, traveled here, and have family and friends here. My own family of origin in the United States is like that of many Americans—not much of a family. Americans do not stay very close to their families, geographically or emotionally, and that is a major mistake. I have long been looking for a home and a family, and the Philippines is the only place I have lived where people honestly seem to understand how important their families are.

Beware: ATM scams - it's REAL!

Just last week, I read in a national broadsheet warning the public to be careful and vigilant in using automated teller machines (ATM) after a new scam was discovered. I don't think this is a "new" scam since every other year or so, scammers always seem to make a comeback. They just let the issue dissipate and the moment banks and depositors let their guards down, boom! Anyway, it still involves the same modus of "skimming" or capturing an ATM card's number, personal identification number (PIN) and other important information using a specialized scanner. The captured data is then used to make a duplicate card which the scammers use to make withdrawals, without the knowledge of the depositor of course. This scam also victimizes credit card owners.  The cause for the warning is a recent case of ATM fraud in UAE. 

Image from the web

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

PNoy: No apology!
Photo credit: allvoices.com

I'm not a political blogger although the reason why we chose our cable subscription plan was because of ANC and the live coverages of senate hearings where the politicos' display their mudslinging and grandstanding acumen.

PNoy's statement on Tuesday about refusing to issue a public apology a year after the Manila hostage tragedy got my fingers itching to write a post on the matter. I beg your indulgence.

Kadayawan Festival 2011 Pamulak winners

Hello everyone! Davao City was again in a festive mood as the city celebrated it 26th Kadayawan Festival. Among the highlights of the celebration were the floral float parade (pamulak sa kadalanan) and street dancing (indak-indak sa kadalanan). Big thanks to Philip Lomada for letting me use his photos. :)

BIG CATEGORY

Finally - Davao has its own milk bank



I found this article through the Mommy Sense FB account. This article is from Manila Bulletin online and true to their word, the newspaper does give good news! It's a milestone and a great news to mothers. Really worth sharing with all of you. Let's help spread the word.

Foul Taste on Ina-Tay's Mouth

Like most Pinoys, I have had enough of the committee hearings on the controversies and exposes that seem to go nowhere. Pardon the pessimism; sure I admire the whistle blowers (go go Heidi!), gets surprised with the exorbitant amount of money they managed to squander and finds the grand standing of most politicians irritating. For me, an expose is good until a bigger and more scandalous one surfaces. It feels like it has a certain shelf life and then poof – nothing happens. Our laws are still too soft on criminals especially those in high places, the witnesses still lack protection from the government and everything is back to square one despite the countless hearings “in aid of legislation”. ... Well, not until Tuesday morning when beleaguered Gen. Angelo Reyes committed suicide. It was an unexpected twist to the saga and gave rise to more questions than answers.