tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107216702024-03-27T19:13:00.361+08:00The Citizen JournalsSocio-Political Issues/Current Events/Personal Stories/Sports & Leisureyusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-80021408737845940782024-03-09T14:10:00.004+08:002024-03-09T14:17:36.545+08:00The Final Answer: US Government Does Not Hold Any Alien Ship?<p>So is this the final answer after months and months of speculations brought about by the very controversial expose of former high-level government intelligence Mr. David Grusch. Even with numerous and oft-repeated video and photo capture of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO), now newly-termed as Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP), Pentagon finally makes an official announcement to end all speculations, that <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/ufos-storage-findings-alien-technology-154300340.html">US Government is not holding any evidence showing proof of alien ships, alien biologics and/or to have alien technology on hand thru reverse engineering</a>.</p><img alt="075048.webp" border="0" height="320" src="https://tinypic.host/images/2024/03/09/075048.webp" width="315" />
<p>Now this is a major setback for UFO/UAP enthiusiasts and believers that the truth is really out there. Or shall we say, the US government had just maintained its mummed stance on aliens and UAPs. Just like it did for decades now. Hmmnn...so many things to anticipate I believe, until we really get face-to-face with an alien being or alien ship one day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<img alt="green-ufo.jpeg" border="0" height="168" src="https://tinypic.host/images/2024/03/09/green-ufo.jpeg" width="320" />yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-33007861212011961932024-03-09T05:42:00.010+08:002024-03-09T13:54:43.263+08:00Scary Terry is Tearing the Rim for Miami Heat<p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1YUvIPI1kVkQjIgppIwkkSxerXvTgX4OYxICORtOk3N1NCp55lCPgMpY9oQOYQ5eEzRAOmpG__K0uOWNV95TEX0DtVNWtB9-hITzOCdmmixCD3fX3jV7OvYNgo2KVx4OAkqhjYNPIpzpelahkdpdskvUuMTQrtI3z3a8E-HAk1eKUObInvqNSw/s1200/terryrozier_012424.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1YUvIPI1kVkQjIgppIwkkSxerXvTgX4OYxICORtOk3N1NCp55lCPgMpY9oQOYQ5eEzRAOmpG__K0uOWNV95TEX0DtVNWtB9-hITzOCdmmixCD3fX3jV7OvYNgo2KVx4OAkqhjYNPIpzpelahkdpdskvUuMTQrtI3z3a8E-HAk1eKUObInvqNSw/s320/terryrozier_012424.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p>Terry "Scary Teary" Rozier proves to be a great and positive acquisition for Miami Heat as he is dramatically tearing the hoops in his last five games, helping to keep the Heat above water for a play-offs run. In the last five games, he made game-changing go-ahead plays and averaged 19.2 points per game and 6.8 assists per game. That's an All-Star stat line that makes the heat now an upcoming superteam.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WAjICtxHQXk" width="320" youtube-src-id="WAjICtxHQXk"></iframe></div><br />We all remember him in his Charlotte Hornets heydays where he can score above 30 points on any given night. We can hear Hornets fan raging for his trade. It is just about in a matter of time that he climbs teh ladder and be as important to the Heat team as Jimmy Butler. <p></p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-57180446988240315882024-03-09T05:32:00.005+08:002024-03-09T05:52:11.721+08:00Shohei Ohtani Makes First Homerun as A Dodger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJffvj9JjqzFTSlczlROaqMbp4sCE8AGif5tMePRgB4kBRH4GpgkpOORXEyRr3O4mHMI39qz5FBhDXz249l3AWMhgFSz3Hp8HaulUsWT7ckQsVubQ7VAziK9GUxTcQ1n_acZR6JDjlmxmkp0WmjjV7ek-a4BlTDGtAnMolBBIxBB8D_S5NJPjeqw/s275/images%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJffvj9JjqzFTSlczlROaqMbp4sCE8AGif5tMePRgB4kBRH4GpgkpOORXEyRr3O4mHMI39qz5FBhDXz249l3AWMhgFSz3Hp8HaulUsWT7ckQsVubQ7VAziK9GUxTcQ1n_acZR6JDjlmxmkp0WmjjV7ek-a4BlTDGtAnMolBBIxBB8D_S5NJPjeqw/s1600/images%20(1).jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Los Angeles is buzzing with excitement and you can feel it in the air. Shohei Ohtani just made his first homerun in an off-season game at Camelback Ranch versus the Chicago Whitesox. Legend begins as he batted the baseball into teh Arizona sky at 102 mph. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1kELYjKNr8" width="320" youtube-src-id="V1kELYjKNr8"></iframe></div><br /><p>It shows that the $700 Million man is gonnan be worth all the money he can get. legend begins as great guy Shohei is poised to make sports history in the coming years.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-10402794735448496602024-03-02T13:06:00.003+08:002024-03-02T14:11:18.298+08:00Iowa's Caitlin Clark to Break US NCAA All-Time Scoring Record<p>Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark is posied to make sports history as she is just 18 points away from breaking the US NCAA basketball All-Time Scoring record - both mwn's and women's basketball category.</p><p>This record is currently being bheld by our legenderay basketball idol ete Maravich, at 3,667 points.</p><p>After the Lebron James NBA record breaking spectacle, the sports world is gripping on another rmilestone that is completely unique and unexpected as a woman could be US NCAA's best scoring basketball athlete. Now that's women empowerment moving forward by leaps and bounds. As Ms. Clark just announced her entry to this year's WNBA Draft on April 15 at the famed BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), we'd wonder if she could ebcome NBA's first woman player. Today women referees, tomorrow women NBA players.</p><p>So it must be running in the Clark family bloodline, Caitlin Clark could just achieve superwoman status in he next game on Senior's Day, Sunday, March 3. 2024 (Monday morning in the Philippines)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6T24MQFxYxyQvc2vA6nKh4SBW_PxQDEmNlidnzmu64shcK_zvWCnTH_W7RPmpW1o-mMLgrQ6nn-xOP0kWaSkbpeRQ1SQwlfbblsTjc7aGDV1TAzo4le3_NoZ0Xhbhd0jYsoU560xqcjreOdQy9LQaLgHS2P2d7SwtchHHeMmwSpN4qfTmpqTnog/s275/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6T24MQFxYxyQvc2vA6nKh4SBW_PxQDEmNlidnzmu64shcK_zvWCnTH_W7RPmpW1o-mMLgrQ6nn-xOP0kWaSkbpeRQ1SQwlfbblsTjc7aGDV1TAzo4le3_NoZ0Xhbhd0jYsoU560xqcjreOdQy9LQaLgHS2P2d7SwtchHHeMmwSpN4qfTmpqTnog/s1600/images.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-43065419172723010922024-03-02T01:46:00.008+08:002024-03-04T06:34:05.260+08:00Here Comes the Hatasu/e-Bikes Invasion - Boon or Bane?<p>There are new kings of the road as we see on our streets today, they are called e-bikes, or in our city Zamboanga, the "Hatasus", getting the name from the company that first popularized it in the market.</p><p>Most recently, <a href="https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/03/02/2337483/ban-e-bikes-could-worsen-congestion" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LGU's in Manila have downright taken the issue of e-bikes proliferating in their main streets</a>, as e-bikes are yet to be regulated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), with the main issue of what kind of automative vehicle it would be classified - Gasoline or Fuel-Cell?</p><p>Such is the evolution of our transportation landscape.</p><p>As it is, the proliferation of Hatasus in our city streets speaks of economic upturn as the populace need for transport increases exponentially. The e-bike gives a comfortable ride than a single motorcycle and definitely its cheaper than four-wheel taxis.</p><p>But One Big Issue is the humongous traffic it would cause. So give or take - It is a boon or a bane?</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvb5fEln-PPfITK4in4mR1Crtf423ME5UcTdkfk83UOZ3M0tLCCpYDzrgO7F-VzcC4yt2ljlyu_h0onX_Dg6CS5gbmGw2i2Jabc2m4wCBjymL0nZ83JuSvSJ6zNbZCKXcpuVWE9D4JdDy0wFxx5jld1J3i2-cyENNfi8CpTpIYJhKF3D2x8iR0A/s1000/Hatasu-PH-launches-its-Hero-e-bike-1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1000" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvb5fEln-PPfITK4in4mR1Crtf423ME5UcTdkfk83UOZ3M0tLCCpYDzrgO7F-VzcC4yt2ljlyu_h0onX_Dg6CS5gbmGw2i2Jabc2m4wCBjymL0nZ83JuSvSJ6zNbZCKXcpuVWE9D4JdDy0wFxx5jld1J3i2-cyENNfi8CpTpIYJhKF3D2x8iR0A/s320/Hatasu-PH-launches-its-Hero-e-bike-1.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-34612633113721631542023-11-13T15:54:00.013+08:002024-02-28T19:21:01.140+08:00IMPLEMENTING RULES & REGULATION (IRR) OF R.A. 8041 - THE WATER CRISIS ACT OF 1995 (PDF Download)<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS</b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8041 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS</b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>THE WATER CRISIS ACT OF 1995</b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tn5AwmQrIeZyLth1vohps9oVXxeT7whMr4aPUx-z41p4EkGfKXrJv7_kpIq9kzwaqnZ_tGttOJZbiaQlrm6ilqZPAoLlFZTSsI8DAt1NxhK4XCVT1d2FMSkeylMWbhBIm8L3bye8ZupHdVe9dGYTAPZCf3CVp6PiGm0I8LekeKge1rD3Bxboww/s279/illegal%20connection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="279" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tn5AwmQrIeZyLth1vohps9oVXxeT7whMr4aPUx-z41p4EkGfKXrJv7_kpIq9kzwaqnZ_tGttOJZbiaQlrm6ilqZPAoLlFZTSsI8DAt1NxhK4XCVT1d2FMSkeylMWbhBIm8L3bye8ZupHdVe9dGYTAPZCf3CVp6PiGm0I8LekeKge1rD3Bxboww/s1600/illegal%20connection.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /><span><br /></span></span></b></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>INTRODUCTION</b> – In accordance with the provisions of R.A. No. 8041 the following Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) are hereby prescribed to carry out the provisions of said Act pursuant to Section 12 thereof.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> RULE 1 GENERAL PROVISION</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SECTION 1.1 POLICY </b>- It is the policy of the State to adopt urgent and effective measures to meet the nationwide water crisis which adversely affects the health and well-being of the people, food production and industrialization process. The government shall, therefore, directly address the issues relevant to the water crisis, including the supply, distribution, financing and privatization of water facilities, the protection and conservation of watersheds and the waste and pilferage of water, including graft and corruption in all water agencies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SECTION 1.2 COVERAGE</b> – These Implementing Rules and Regulations shall cover the following areas:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Organization and operation of the Joint Executive-Legislative Water Crisis Commission;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">b.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Negotiated Contracts;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">c.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Reorganization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA); </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">d.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anti-pilferage measures;</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">e.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Protection and Conservation of Watersheds</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 55.35pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 55.35pt 0in 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 55.35pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 55.35pt 0in 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 55.35pt; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 55.35pt 0in 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><a href="https://1drv.ms/b/s!AvhRKWRNMkGPwH7d_by2brJm3a4h?e=ZV09iq" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT FROM THIS LINK.</b></span></a></p>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-33517826251884350662017-10-31T03:52:00.000+08:002017-11-01T05:48:37.112+08:00A White Lady in the Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My real sighting of a ghost came years later when I was just about ten or eleven years old. I could remember some particulars as I relate this to you now. It was near midnight, on one weekend, when most of the members of our household stayed wide awake to watch a television special; it was a late night movie if I am not mistaken.</div>
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Usually when the night comes, I had felt dutiful always to check the back door if they were safely locked and shut tightly. That night, before I sat to watch the show, I reconnoitered the kitchen and locked the door after reassuring that every chore in the kitchen has been done. As the show started, I felt a strong urge to relieve myself that I headed for the comfort room, situated just to the left of the kitchen. As I turned towards the direction of the kitchen, I saw a figure of a woman in white gown, with her hair down to her knees, walked pass the hall leading to the kitchen.</div>
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" Is someone still in the kitchen?" I asked.</div>
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"Everyone is here. Why?" quipped my Aunt Coney.</div>
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"I just saw a woman in white walked by in the kitchen hall!" I exclaimed.</div>
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"Do not kid us like that." She warned.</div>
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"Really. I did saw a woman"</div>
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We all stared at each other and after a moment, we all scurried for the main bedroom. Every one was blaming me for playing some wicked game on them and I kept on denying them.</div>
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"It must be your imagination." they all indicted me.</div>
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Half an hour later, we were back in front of the television while I was feeling so sick already from fear. I had no choice but to join them in the living room otherwise I would be alone in the room.</div>
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While the television was glaring, a sudden wind blew forcefully from the window and rain poured instantaneously as rumbling thunder shook the house. It was just another bad weather, as we disregarded the weather's tumult and stay stuck to the television show. Perhaps the wind was so whipping that small bits of stones were thrown at our direction, entering thru the window.</div>
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"Damn it. Someone is throwing stones at us," Coney said and we all peered into the window to investigate the malefactor and we find exactly nobody outside as more bits of stone came at us. The sound of thunder became extremely forceful that the lights went out. By this time, I could already feel the fear that had enveloped not only me, but also the rest of them; fear has a smell I realized that moment. In the middle of the living room, a small whirlwind was lifting the small stones towards the ceiling in a circular motion and while the stones circled above ground, the wind suddenly stopped and the bits of stone fell simultaneously to the ground. We all screamed and run to the bedroom.</div>
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It was strange that the day after, no matter how patently strange the experience we had the night before, everyone was merely jesting about it while Hadja Saniya simply dismissed it as the playful imagination of our minds, us who were still tender in the head. She was deep in slumber when the strange happenstance occurred. Even those who were present in that strange occurrence simply forgot about it, never mentioning it again. My Aunt Coney just did not talk about it. My brothers Nasrullah and Akmad and my sister Rimaisa just went to the yards and play the usual games, as if nothing happened. If I remember well, my cousin Nimfa and Mernisa was present then and similarly, they never took it so seriously despite the common terror we had felt that night. Where in contrast, that unusual night were etched forever in my mind.</div>
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The eldest who was there was Aunt Coney. I had expected her to convince the others that some spirits really played fun on us but she acted as if the strange night was merely a usual occurrence, and did go on with the ordinary chores, as if nothing happened, as if she was expecting such things to happen ordinarily. After that night in fact, she had slowly gained isolation from the rest of us, at least it was how I have observed her to be. She would walk along and would give me that iniquitous stare that I felt somehow uncomfortable that she had suddenly become so mindful of my presence that she would shout at me easily if for example I happened to touch the expensive jar in the living room.</div>
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I reckoned that she had blamed me for that strange occurrence in that one strange night.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">From my upcoming novel/semi-autobiography </span><a href="http://prophetdaily.blogspot.com/p/autobiography.html"><span style="color: #073763;"><b>"A Prophet's Life"</b></span></a><span style="color: #333333;">.</span></div>
yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-37656159266665015592017-10-25T02:35:00.002+08:002024-02-28T19:25:26.445+08:00Golden State Warriors Rained from Outside to Out-Strategy Ageing/Rebuilding Dallas Mavericks<b>FINAL SCORE: Golden State Warriors 133 – Dallas Mavericks 103</b><br />
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI3CCYMM5Vcn3Cc9ws-j_PiuReOM4tedTZDz7d1M8L-frEPdaDGdf4jiyINMBfTaQ-pHaauCmdk1qXujnMiRNl1DEN8ZPtXyIXrEN62tQbd31Qnmh1GRpBoXb65AlI-1naR3rwB47CAPAqKE9vNgMI7xjyCUCGQteR3yrWMrqLe-MZBddcstHcg/s275/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI3CCYMM5Vcn3Cc9ws-j_PiuReOM4tedTZDz7d1M8L-frEPdaDGdf4jiyINMBfTaQ-pHaauCmdk1qXujnMiRNl1DEN8ZPtXyIXrEN62tQbd31Qnmh1GRpBoXb65AlI-1naR3rwB47CAPAqKE9vNgMI7xjyCUCGQteR3yrWMrqLe-MZBddcstHcg/s1600/download.jpg" width="275" /></a><br />It’s a familiar story. Shoot well from outside and clear the lanes for inside plays. It’s a classic strategy that the Golden State Warrior’s held on to nail their second win in four outings. They just rained from the rainbow territory in the first half of the game allowing their big men to feel at ease inside the key area and blasted the ageing/rebuilding Dallas Mavericks 133 to 103.<br />
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Warrior’s coach Steve Kerr has some straight directive – shoot well from outside and everything comes out easy. I wonder if this will make them predictable all season like, “how to beat the warriors” manta, is by taking away their three’s and allowing their inside games. We’ll see from now on.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>
yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-81250640756034910262017-10-23T11:40:00.004+08:002024-02-28T19:26:41.816+08:00LA Lakers: A Young Team with Offensive Strengths But Soft in Defense<b>FINAL SCORE : New Orleans Pelicans 119 - LA Lakers 112</b><div><b><br /></b>
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While hoping Lonzo Ball would make further affirmation with another Laker’s win, the NBA live stream have shown how the Showtime team boasts of offensive strengths in Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball, along with Brandon Ingram, BUT shows apparent lack of defense, or a very weak defensive focus that allows easy baskets from the Pelicans in today’s game.<br />
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Coach Luke Walton should better look up to this weakness as it could be like a chronic disease that would lead their season to woeful downswings.<br />
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At times in the game, you could just see a Pelican just swoosh through towards the hoop while a Laker is just standing by and staring at the points made.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-65784602405751500042017-10-19T15:39:00.001+08:002017-10-23T11:55:09.866+08:00What Are Illegal Water Service Connections? Brochure DownloadFor more in details and information, please download the info-material "What Are Illegal Water Service Connections?" on this LINK. <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApZA63f5si0cpHtJ-Izx0vRVUv6C">DOWNLOAD.</a></span></b><br />
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<b><br /></b>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-12793209681285859452017-10-16T18:06:00.000+08:002017-10-16T18:13:57.602+08:00Simariki Island: Sacred Landbridge to a Journey of a Thousand Miles by the Samal-Banguingui Tribes People<b>A Speech By Caloy T. Bandaying on Bonifacio Day c. 2016</b><br />
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<i>As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu!</i><br />
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Friends, companions, my fellow citizens of Zamboanga, honoured guests and dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen, Buenas Dias con el todo!<br />
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This day, we mark the celebration of Bonifacio Day, the natal day of one of our bravest and most courageous national hero, Gat Andres Bonifacio, a true leader who had symbolized nationalism and liberty with so much fervor and intensity that in our history, no other personage had lived such blazing life as he had lived. He is one great hero that always remind us that the road towards peace and freedom is often the most daunting and perilous, as Bonifacio himself had lost his life, in the most brutal of manner, towards the cause of his Filipino brethren, for freedom and honor of Motherland.<br />
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It is but a consolation to say, as a Filipino bereft of any foreign control and subjugation - we all can say that Bonifacio’s death had not gone to naught after all.<br />
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Today also, in this very moment and time, we stand upon this ground that have been thrown into the whirlwind of confusion, into the bitter hands of conflict and chaos; Firstly, due to one woeful memory that had occurred just merely three years past, where in 2013, the Siege of Zamboanga was said to have been staged from this very island from where we all stand now, among several other outlying areas, within this island of Simariki, where armed MNLF combatants have first staged their insidious plan of attack, which in the days after, had proven to be tremendously destructive, ultimately disparaging and long-suffering; that on that one fateful dawn, when the sky was not yet kissed by the morning sun, the city had awaken to the rudest of all awakening, of what was seemingly the coming of a peaceful morning, had turned into the precursor of hellish troubles as blasting sound of gunfire swooshed into the early morning sky and the most terrible panic shook the hearts of the city’s citizen.<br />
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And yet, in this land of us, in the southern tip of the nation, the land of Mindanao continues to struggle for freedom, from violence and misunderstanding and disunity.<br />
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In a time of greatest communication, of advancement in space and Internet, we have belabored and had hoped to the fullest that peace and understanding could be attained finally, that we have finally reached our destination.<br />
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And yet the Siege of Zamboanga still had to happen; despite these arduous efforts towards the pursuit for lasting peace among men of different tribes and creed in our Island of Mindanao – this seemingly endless pursuit for peace and unity.<br />
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In a time of artful technology, the potentialities of human skill, of what the human mind could achieve, humankind had indeed achieve so many things, more than what was expected even by the most intelligent of men in decades past. Now we communicate through gadgets so small we hold it in our palms, converse even through the farthest lands, across the widest oceans. We have built satellites and voyagers that reached the farthest planets. We are even close to creating humans out of the cloned roots of a sheep.<br />
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Yet, in these times of advancement – have we achieve what every gadgetry and what every human wealth could not? Despite the advancement in human skills and abilities – have we achieved peace and understanding amongst us, amongst peoples, amongst different tribes and amongst different religion?<br />
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This is the longing question that asked and longed for an answer for so long now. I am not one to berate anyone else, or any other for these dissensions; in fact, I myself could be attributed how peace and conflicts still remains within our midst.<br />
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Yet, we do not choose to fail; we do not choose to retreat, for no matter how long is the path to peace, I believe that we should hold still, that no amount of armed conflict could dissuade us from reaching our destination, our ultimate goal of peace in our Fatherland.<br />
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Like a sailboat amidst gorging wind in a stormy weather, we will hold our sail down if we need to hold it down, and we will just let it fly again, and let sail if the rain and storm had stopped and calmed, and with the sunny weather, we will keep on sailing, and voyaging until we reach our promised land.<br />
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This long quest for peace reminds me of the journeys of my forefathers, the tribe of Samal-Banguingui, who had journeyed long distances throughout the seas of Southeast Asia, that had brought so many of us, including me, to these shores that we all live now.<br />
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If it would not be so much of a disturbance to you, let me narrate the humble beginnings and the ardous journeys that had been taken by my forefathers.<br />
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Simariki is also close to me and my family, and among the Samal banguingui tribesmen, as this is one of the known point of arrivals for the Banguingui tribesmen, coming from a journey of a thousand miles and a thousand waves, of a wave of emigration that began in the farthest part of Southeast Asia, from the Riau Islands of Indonesia, towards historically known localities that had served as land bridges that had finally brought us here in the flower city of Zamboanga, from Buan and Panglima Sugala in Tawi-Tawi, to Talipao and Tongkil islands in Sulu, towards here, and then even to a well-known island at the south of Mindanao, named after the tribe, the Samal island in Davao del Norte.<br />
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In fact, one of my forefathers, Baharaim Bandaying was buried here and holds great remembrance for me and members of my clan.<br />
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Our tribe, the Samal- Banguingui, is known to be peace-loving and civilized tribe that it is so infrequent that any of us might be heard to have created chaos or disturbance in the community. Humility and respect to others are traits that we hold dear in our hearts, learned from our elders, who scold us with bitterest and vilest of words if we happen to disrespect any of our fellowmen.<br />
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Yet, despite of these claims, which could be self-serving the most, and may you excuse me for my excesses if there would be – our tribe have also been embroiled in ancient conflicts and turmoil, the most memorable of which was the involvement of the Sultanate of Sulu in the civil war that had enveloped the Sultanate of Sulu in 1660, where in order to aid the besieged Sultan of Brunei Sultan Muhyiddin, then Sultan of Sulu Sultan Salahud-Din Bakhtiar had ordered his naval forces to come to the aid of the Bruneian sultan and according to historical narrative, it was this military aid that had become the key to turn the civil war into the side of the Bruneian sultanate, quelling rebellion and challenge to his throne that thereon, as a sign of greatest gratitude, the Sultan Muhyiddin had ceded the entire state of Sabah, one of its tributary, to the Sultan Bakhtiar.<br />
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The Samal-Banguingui were fervent voyager of the sea, zealous and comfortable with the sea wind that throughout the ancient histories of our lands, they have thrive as seafarers and sea traders, and had even been embroiled in not a few times, in the perilous occupation of sea pirates, creating havoc and chaos in the old seas of Southeast Asis, invoking fear and terror to navigators and shippers that had plied the routes within those seas.<br />
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During Spanish colonization, whence the Spanish military had repeatedly and incessantly attempted to take hold of the territories in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the Sultan of Sulu had depended on his navy, the Samal-Banguinguis to quell these invasions, staging countermoves towards the shoes of Zamboanga and even as far away as Luzon up north.<br />
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And yet, this is not to unduly shore up our tribe my dear fellows, but it is with humility that I relay to you the struggles and challenges that had been faced by my forefathers, just in order to reach a destination of a thousand miles, of a thousand tears, of a thousand longings and sufferings - of a journey of the Samal-Banguingui tribe, that had begun hundreds of years ago in the Indonesian islands of Rhiu, per account by expert historians, towards the shore of Sabah, then in Buan island in Tawi-tawi, through the strongholds in Tongkil, then Basilan, and then here in Zamboanga, who along with the Subanens, we have been the original dwellers of these lands.<br />
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A journey that had led some of us towards Olutanga and then in Samal Island off the coast of Davao.<br />
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My friends and companions, it is my hope that our quest for peace, our aim for understanding amongst different tribe, race and religion, will find its long-sought destination, no matter how long and arduous the path may be, no matter if the seas connotes storms and hurricanes that bring our sails down, for in every storm, there would be calm and windy weather to come, and our voyage towards peace shall continue once again. Thank you very much to one and all!<br />
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yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-54242030506964292212017-10-16T04:49:00.000+08:002017-10-20T16:00:26.279+08:00Time as Our Guidance For A Better Tomorrow<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>A Speech by Amilpasa T. Bandaying</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As old as existence itself,
Time is even defined as “the indefinite continued progress of existence and
events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through
the present to the future”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ladies and gentlemen, honored
guests and visitors, speaking of time is quite a challenging task, since no one
could ever be expert on this matter, as we have not studied time like we study many
scientific issues and daily existence, and no one had invented time, that we
realize that time is ultimately of divine reality. So often we ask ourselves, do we have a grasp time?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am now reminded about what
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had once said about time, as narrated by Ibn Abbas,
that “There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and
free time for doing good” (Bukhari 8/421)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That indeed time is God-given,
for us to to utilize wisely, for our own benefit and health, that if we misuse time, it
becomes our own perdition instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is but a very good timing
that I speak of time as the world today is on a threshold of so many radical and monumental changes, of advancement in technology, the great changes about how the way we live, and thereon
the way we make our living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Time is a free force. It does
not wait for any one. It is commonly said that time and tide waits for no man.
Time is money. A minute not usefully spent is an eternal loss. You can never
get back the lost minute. One has to strike the iron when it is hot. The time
flies and never returns. If you waste time, it wastes you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this hurried modern life,
time becomes the most vital and important, that if we waste time just for a
single minute, we lost great profits and also opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Islam, we are instructed to
use time wisely, using our time in doing beneficial things especially those
that make us closer to Allah and earn His Mercy.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> in our own hands, and use it for own advantages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must plan time carefully and
use it as guidance for us for a better future. It is not for us
to waste time, that even in our free time, we must use it for the benefits of
ourselves and perhaps, of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This thought is of great
importance to you since you are very youthful and have the feeling of vigor and dynamism,
which would incline you to go out there in the world, in your professional and
personal lives, like a raging bull, out to conquer the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a natural thing, and yet,
if we will not stop for a while and make this realization about time, any haste
would merely end us up in great waste, even in harm and negativity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That it is of great advice that
we seek the hands of time like a brother, a companion, most importantly, as a
guidance that will see us through in our future successes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must plan time – not merely
by the hour or by the day, even by the months and by the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like for example, by next year,
I have planned in time, to have a good job, in five years, I planned to earn a
law degree, two years hence, I am going to get married and have a house and
perhaps a car. And so on and so forth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "bell mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do
not be swayed innocently by unplanned time, just to float and swing by the
hands of time and tide, like a paper in the wind. Time and tide waits for no
man. If you will get behind, that will be you own fault. Take hold of time. Be
the master of your own faith</span>yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-67329969954351827052017-10-15T11:02:00.002+08:002017-10-16T12:13:24.701+08:00Are You Ready for the New Jeepney?Here's how the new Jeepneys would look like:<br />
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoycomjmFh9DVvTcFHUKq7d7YzK0VWgz3SLUpUmaQoNtZni0K2C5GwMvBF2O25R27VENmFkf-hFKfHoKNSwNXZkRuf8qVEyqDfNCtm9xtdkRMU86fdY63hC8HuftDysKy1Du9Ug/s1600/New+Jeepney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="645" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoycomjmFh9DVvTcFHUKq7d7YzK0VWgz3SLUpUmaQoNtZni0K2C5GwMvBF2O25R27VENmFkf-hFKfHoKNSwNXZkRuf8qVEyqDfNCtm9xtdkRMU86fdY63hC8HuftDysKy1Du9Ug/s320/New+Jeepney.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Under the government's Jeepney Modernization Program, old jeepneys will have to be replaced with low-emission and Euro 4-compliant units, with the units themselves being provided for by the government, possibly under easy payment schemes for Filipino drivers. Majorly, this program seem to be more focused on environmental improvement and compliance.<br />
<br />
But transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operaytor Nationwike (Piston) immediately frowns on this and launches nationwide strike. So no class tomorrow.<br />
<br />
What happens to the old jeepneys? They'd be scrapped of course. Including culture and tradition...I bet.<br />
<br />
Read more on this link for a more comprehensive discussion on the<a href="https://www.carmudi.com.ph/journal/heres-whats-in-store-for-the-jeepney-modernization-program/" target="_blank"> <b><span style="color: red;">Jeepney Modernization Program</span></b></a> of the government.<br />
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<br />yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-23062704218751075692017-10-14T06:37:00.002+08:002017-10-17T08:36:29.273+08:00IPRA law as a Model for Social Transformation <b>By Caloy T. Bandaying</b><br />
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When we think of Indigenous Peoples or IPs as commonly stated in general language, we see the <br />
peoples of the mountains, of the hinterlands, of the waving seas, of the lush forests and teeming valleys and hills. We see the man in nearly bare garments, wearing the hunter’s wardrobe and the near naked women and children they aim to feed and protect.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqct5FYSEMQv2krV63rXoRi0z0d9-8F1I7iJVtFIkES9T74QdfHVhARxbPhG8M6VFmlDJvXC3SXhi7uHyFxNr-hg6f7U5VtoIww1T3mtPWkDcm3CiziJAaK8bg_j1PKuzIXGObVA/s1600/books-in-bookshelf-in-library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqct5FYSEMQv2krV63rXoRi0z0d9-8F1I7iJVtFIkES9T74QdfHVhARxbPhG8M6VFmlDJvXC3SXhi7uHyFxNr-hg6f7U5VtoIww1T3mtPWkDcm3CiziJAaK8bg_j1PKuzIXGObVA/s320/books-in-bookshelf-in-library.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ladies and gentlemen, friends and visitors, honored guests, we must admit that the native life of the Indigenous peoples (IPs) have become farthest from our minds of lately, even though in our younger years, we have heard about them in many myths and legends, and even had venerated their cunning ways – as we say, with bows and arrows, the hunter within us lives like an eternal spirit.<br />
<br />
However, today, while we embroiled ourselves in our steep modernity, Somehow, it is inevitable that we dispel their ordinary ways as we embrace the convenient modern life with many tools of innovative communication, entertainment and utility. How else can we surpass this gargantuan indifference when we ourselves are belabored by many questions of technology – whether we have electronic loads, or power banks or internet fees?<br />
<br />
This is the main struggle of the IPs and the IPRA law, or Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as “The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997”, enacted in a time when our nation was in great strife hurdling armed struggles from rightists, leftists and the usual separatists entities from the South, as well as the specter of fragile politics and governance that was heavily embattled by a crippling national power crisis that had seen our homes and workplaces covered in extended darkness.<br />
<br />
Almost a couple of decades hence, we have not seen the full fruition of this law, as if we have met a great dead end, a towering blank wall that is almost impossible to overcome.<br />
<br />
My companions in aim and aspiration, the IPRA law was born in the most sacred of circumstances, anchored even under the most fundamental law of our land, the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which had prescribed the promotion and protection of the rights of the IPs, the framers of our most supreme law, having then of right mind for justice, fairness and gratitude to the natives, to the peoples that reminds us of our past, of our ancient ways, of where we have comes from, of our roots, of how we, as Filipinos, have been as valiant and sturdy as these hunters and warriors from the mountains, those cunning Tbolis, the brave Manobos, the cultured Igorots, the Badjaos whose astuteness at sea is unparralled, the land-dwelling samals, and many others who make us not forget of our ancient hunting ways, us who were feared by foreign intruders and whose courage and fighting ways were told about throughout the world as the fiercest kind.<br />
<br />
Under Article XII, National Economy and Patrimony of our Constitution, it is clearly provided that:<br />
<br />
“SECTION 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national development policies and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being.”<br />
<br />
Being a constitutional provision, this a clear mandate, by the people, from the people, that indeed, we should pursue this ultimately benevolent mission and undertaking, to see the day, that the rights of the IPs are pursued to the end, and see its final fruition.<br />
<br />
According to the words of Fr. Albert E. Alejo, SJ, as he was then submitting a position paper on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, “the IPRA itself is a peace agreement”.<br />
<br />
I agree to this completely, for IPRA is an innovation of law and social justice that has the potential of becoming a tool for social transformation, a model to a nation that is continually beset by armed struggles, an economic introduction that could heal the wounds of many sectors in the society, to mend conflicting egos, and contrasting persuasions.<br />
<br />
If in the end, IPRA could build a road towards social transformation of the IPs, then it can show us a light towards unending peace and harmony, a road map that we could pattern up to.<br />
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That the success of IPRA, its full implementation and execution, now becomes more and more a must and of great complement, in a time that the present government gropes in darkness for the key towards lasting peace in our nation.<br />
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The Indigenous person hopes not the sky or the heavens, but merely the humble desire to be in harmony with the mainstream society as well as participation in governance. These two main aims is the battle cry of the natives, who have long been suffering great indifference and alienation from the society.<br />
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It is but unbelievable my friends, that we sometimes help foreign refugees, while our tribes languish in poverty and fear, of lack of education and livelihood, killed like chickens by mining giants, as if fed to the lions alive.<br />
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It is but time for us to move forward, that the society and the government should look from within and without, to finally work to the fullest of efforts, to give the IPs their dues, their ancestral domains, their participation in government. For I believe, that leaving them in the jungles and disentanglements becomes a national guilt that brings us further from the peace and harmony that we aim to seek, and the national economic progress that our nation is starting to experience although seemingly still a fragile reality – a fragile economic gains since our society is still like this, in the time of serfdom, feudalism and patriarchy, where the gains is only amongst the rich and not shared or distributed to the people.<br />
<br />
The story of the IPs is the story of the Filipino people. In so long as the IPRA law does not become a main reality, the IPs will continue to languish in scarcity and darkness.<br />
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My brethrens in ambition, the success of IPRA becomes now the success of our nation, the victory of peace and the success of social harmony amongst us.<br />
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Thank you very much.<br />
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yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-22391421864963713092017-10-13T15:33:00.000+08:002017-10-17T08:10:54.570+08:00Black Sea, Dark Night (A novel)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>By Yusop B. Masdal</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOa2SjW_fF7SARnTjbT0G_PV2k_33aD22YNkgNREpvi0Y3tubWKNvY3rWhLqzH3-Jt2ec-eC_9hECzAipRJUa4JIxFQy0PFp3lAyn9tg94RSPcDo5xfKvwaatOFaIreF1ap7wB7g/s1600/14297169876_ca186f9184_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOa2SjW_fF7SARnTjbT0G_PV2k_33aD22YNkgNREpvi0Y3tubWKNvY3rWhLqzH3-Jt2ec-eC_9hECzAipRJUa4JIxFQy0PFp3lAyn9tg94RSPcDo5xfKvwaatOFaIreF1ap7wB7g/s320/14297169876_ca186f9184_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The devil in his black robes and black cape, with his black teeth that gnash into the darkness with unseen ferocity. Those rangy eyes that slit to the sides like cats on the prowl. I have not seen him before except in the fertile ground of my mind, in my pregnant imagination and the intricacies in which it is capable of inventing. The lengthy tongue of fires billowed here and there like giant waves in the high seas, swallowing hapless fishing boats caught in the midst of a raging storm, within a Pacific Ocean caught in one of its hellish moods. That is inferno that I never knew could exist in this mortal world, however briefly they may have come to me, interfering with the cinema of my mind without any regard or consideration for the permanent stain that it might cast over my mental health. And yet, the most fearful episode is still about to happen.
I fear most the devil when he appears suddenly in front of the doorway of my dingy room upstairs, hovering in midair, neither his serpentine feet nor his massive head touching any sides of the wooden entrance.<br />
<br />
While all the lights are out and the sound of crickets lay very still in the thickness of the dawn. And then in those unholy hours, my eyelids appeared to open forcibly by some unknown persuasion that even while I am gasping for air, s struggling from it. It was useless to think of running away for the source of terror lies there, in the only passage out escape my mouth, much less a verifiable holler. To make matters worst, sleep completely leaves me from that very moment of terror, that I have become a terrified victim of darkness, a tortured soul of the night.<br />
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Sometimes the devil merely speaks to me without transgressing my sight, in a voice that whispers like leeches poring into my skin and into my veins. At first, the conversation we had was directionless, discouraged by the crippling fear that had enveloped my whole being as every limb an nodes trembled steadily almost crackling my whole being like a crisp biscuit pounded into bits of flour. How could you ever spew discerning words when you are cold like polar ice? How could one ever speak to a devil? Is there any precedence that could guide my notions and insinuations? How do I confer with someone, rather with an entity, whose existence is at most mythical, highly unverifiable and definitely not within the bounds of reality as the word outsides this room knows? And yet the devil talk to me, of what subject I never moment of such luciferic pronouncements, I always had to run away, at times into the earliest at most up and down, to and fro, inside the house that my mother never hesitated to declare me a mental case my sister Leda, and so did the neighbors, and later on my friends and everyday acquaintances. I got tired of running out, sweating profusely like a swine put on its death row, with the eyes of the word piercing my soul, accusing, and convicting: all at the same time
Somehow, somewhat we all get to used to everything, however strange things may have became in this world that is continually challenging the bounds of morality, customs cordiality, ordinary notions and knowledge-the bounds of reality.<br />
<br />
Finally, in the evening that the first moon of July finally appeared, I have resolved to make the necessary clarifications as to the purpose of the devil.
Dr. Felisberto did not speak for nearly a minute, massaging his forehead with his lengthened fingers. He sat back to his executive chair, a certain desperation was written in his face.
“Peter, you should go home now. Have some good sleep, force yourself to sleep, count the sheep, drink a lot milk, and think, just think hardly that the devil, or whatever it is that appears or talk to you is definitely unreal. Then come back tomorrow or the day after, I am sure you’ll be just fine. I recommend that you see Dr. Marquez, he is a good friend, you could trust him.”
“Hey , I am not crazy just as yet, I don’t need no psychiatrist. I just better leave.”
“Call me tomorrow Peter.”
The point is this strange occurrence is all for me to keep Leda and Harvey must have been the only person in this world that I could talk to about those experiences but both proved useless bottled fluids hanging over my head and some oversized fat idiot forcing us to do seat-ups, feeding us rice cereals with no bit of chicken in it.
I cannot talk about this to just anybody. Of most things I hate is being implicated as a mental case, that’s the worst of it. It really drives anyone paranoid.
Nothing matters to me anymore but to escape this predicament. My law subjects do not matter anymore, the food I eat, the kung-fu movies, the latest Grisham thriller, Pearl Jam’s new release.<br />
<br />
Everything in my life had turned into a turn still, upside down, downside up. Every second and every minute my mind is invaded by the devil and his soldiers of fear, his warriors of the dark and there is a battle that seems to be intractable, not to be won by a side so dilapidated and untrained in the art of war, what more a war against the unknown and the unexplainable.
My room has become so disarranged for lack of attention. I only go up there during the day, when I have no other mind but to sleep, lug around and sleep. I even oversleep one night that woke up when the evening was still early. The lights were out and the moment I woke up, the panic was so sudden that I virtually could feel it running through my veins, from my feet towards my feet. Again, I lifted myself immediately, jerking my body from my bed and run as fast as my legs could afford.
I took my supper alone, as always and tried to calm down the racing heartbeat.
The phone rating when I was about to finish up my meal and Leda was gracious enough to sacrifice some second of her attention from the television to answer the call. “Peter, its Dr. Felisberto”.
I never expected the call that I wanted to make further clarification with Leda. “It’s really for you. Why do you have to still have to argue?”
“Peter, its Harley, I was worried about you. I think we need to talk this evening. Come to my house in an hour. I’ll be home by that time.”
Harley’s house was about ten kilometers away from so I borrowed the car from my Mom. The weather averaged to windy, to rainy, to stormy for almost a week now. The night was unusually dark, the sky no stars or moon above.<br />
<br />
At about nine o’clock, I arrived at the suburb residence of Harley and he was on the front porch with Mrs. Felisberto.
“Good Evening, Peter”, Mrs. Felisberto greeted me as I took my seat on a steel chair. “Please have a seat. Have some cookies and coffee.”
“No, no coffee for Peter for the meantime. What you need now is a good pint of rum.” Harley said to Mrs. Felisberto and to myself while she was about to enter the house. “Executing me, Peter,” she said, “I need to sleep early. I hope you could tend for yourself.”
“Thank you Ma’am, do not worry about me”, I said as Harley poured some rum-coke into a small glass.
“Sit down, Peter,” Harley started as he sipped his liquor, “There is something that I am going to tell you and you have to listen carefully. When you came to me that day, I couldn’t help but conclude that you are again wallowing in drugs for what else could be wrong with you. All through your childhood you were healthy as a horse on the desert, expect for some occasional bronchitis and bouts with the sinusitis. Aside from these weaknesses of your respiratory system, you were definitely a healthy child, at least one that you could not call sickly. I told you to call me immediately because I need to stay in contact with you. I was so worried about you. I received the immediately because I need to stay in contact with you. I received the blood examination result that you sent through your maid and you were right, you could not have been taking drugs for almost a year now. I checked your records in the Sinai Hospital where you were detoxified and there were general conclusion that your paranoia had not in fact lapsed into hallucination meaning to say, you have not yet experienced visual or sonar miscalculation of things at that time and it is unlikely that you developed such. Still, insanity may still come from other sources aside from drugs, or that in your you may have been affected too much by the drug overdose that eventually now your mental environment already. Or you may have been gravely affected by Trisha, you know, you told me that she was not really worth it, but who can tell, I cannot tell.”
“Trishia, well, there’s really nothing to it, no big deal…. I just feel uncomfortable not to be seeing her again. Wanting to see her, when there’s that glimmer to hope but not enough resolved to kneel down and apologized. But it never really mattered when I am without her. I am just alright with or without her?
“Uh huh. Let me continue.” Harley cleared his throat and gobbled down another shot of rum.” The point is you could most probably be already experiencing the very stages of insanity. However, I could tell you that I know a crazy person when I see one. Just by the way he looks, much more by the way he talks.”
“Come on Harley, you called me here just to tell me in my face that I am crazy?”
“No, no, no…. let me continue, what I am saying is that, for all the experiences you have had. You are not crazy peter. Believe me. I know you ever since you are a child. I have not gained expert knowledge on psychiatry…. Or whatever it is they call that… that’s why I made you note that there is probability that you may be going crazy in the head. Anyone could become crazy; no one is exempted. Rich, poor gay person, white people, black people…. even dogs could go haywire in the head. But I know you. I believe you when you when you said that you are not crazy. Pardon me if I had insinuated otherwise.”
“Well…. Thanks Harley’’, for a while almost could not speak. I felt I could cry from this rare affirmation, which I really needed at this time.” Well, what can I say Harley? But it still does not solve my problem. I am terrified and wouldn’t be too soon till myself would announce to the entire world that I am really a goner in the head. Come handcuff me and throw me to the Lion.
“Calm down peter what are saying. Please let me continue”
“Okay…. Go on….
“Another thing is that I believe you when you said devil had talk to you.”
“Are you serious? Do not make fun of me especially in my present condition, Harley.”
“No, Listen. I believe you because let us just say that I know someone who had similar experience, about voices and apparitions. It was long ago. So long ago peter that I thought I have already forgotten it until you come to me that day.” Harley Look the bottle of the liquor and drank whatever left of it without using the glass. Something in his face was unusual, a face, that tells me of a Harley that I didn’t know. There was a thin layer of sweat all over his face, which was red and Harley suddenly looked feverish that I stated to worry about him.
“Are you alright, Harley Am I bothering you already.
“No again, listen to me and please do not interrupt me, okay<br />
<br />
I was a little bit surprised on the sudden abruptness in the speech of Harley. Definitely, I have never seen him in such condition even when I have known him for almost all my life.
“Yes see, Peter” Harley continued as he opened another bottle of, liquor, it was a scotch whisky this time,” It happened when I was about a child of ten, again do not interrupt me, just listen. I guess it was about the year 1967 or 1969, I am not sure anymore, back in our town in Mercedes. One afternoon, while we were playing games with my friends at the backyard of our old house, the house at the house that I told about which was built during the Spanish time by our great grand parents, my grandpa shrieked and shouted for help. The neighbors heard he cry of my grandpa that many came running towards our house. I run as fast as I could to see what the commotion was all about. The earth seemed to move as I pass the hallway that I almost fell on the stairway, grabbing the handles before I completely lose my footing, and then I saw blood on the floor of the room of my grandpa. There were huge amount of fresh blood on the floor that it seemingly flowed like a river. Before I could see what was really happening, the men who answered the call for help rushed my grandpa out of the bedroom and I later on learned that grandma was rushed to the hospital in the City area, unconscious and bleeding profusely.
“That afternoon, just as the sun was about to set down on the horizon, most of the my relatives and some neighbors gathered in our house. The Sala was so spacious that even if the people who gathered around numbered to almost twenty, you could still feel empty spaces all around. They were waiting for father and grandpa to arrive from the municipal hall and until that time, nobody seemed to know to speak. It was some sort of unusual, Uncle Bert, the fat and clown of an uncle of mine would surely have monopolized the conversation and let the conversation explode with laughter and merriment were it not for what had happened to grandma. The silence was augmented by the yellow luminescence coming from the lamps that filled the corners of the Sala and the hidden shadows it had built. We did not have electricity in our place at that time and ventilation was attained by the windows so wide that you could mistake it for doors if you were not careful enough.”
“My father has gone straight to the municipal hall from the general hospital per invitation of the police. No, there was no wrong suspicion of the murder indicated by the authorities, against grandpa or any against member of the house; no one was made to answer for highly interrogative inquiries that are usual in similar situation. Corporal San Diego has sent some of his men to make. Routinely police work, inspecting the passage ways for any sign of forcible entry, scanning for finger and foot print, taking away some pieces of clothing and belongings that were not really of great consequence to us, the bed sheet, the blanket, some hankies. That was all. We saw the police asking our maid, Delia, a question or two, after that, the police took their leave. In the police station, Corporal Son Diego apologized for the inconvenience and informed my father that he needs to make some sort of statement for records purposes and that’s all and there was a promise of a speedy resolution to this unfortunate event.”
“The maids serve coffees and a biscuit for there was no time anymore to prepare food for such a short time. My fathers arrive about seven o’ clock in the evening. With red stains still his shirts. It was clear that he tried to wash it off with water for the color of blood on his, shirt has appeared muddled and diluted. Everyone was tense and worried. It was never spoken but I could tell the general expectation is that grandma would not make it, what with huge amount of blood that had been loss from her, Cousin Betty, the oldest cousin that I knew of it was already inconsolable while uncle Berto scolded her that she was already counting grandma dead even even if news has not yet arrive from the hospital.’ Let us wait for Daniel’ uncle Berto reminded everyone,’ I sure Mama would be all right. Now calm down Betty. You there Harley, go to the front gate and wait there for your father and stop playing with your toy car. This is no time for playing, gaddemet ’ I seemed to have isolated myself from entire happening, looking in from the outside, seemingly oblivious to the graveness of the situation and unfeeling to the heavy emotion that seemed to have enveloped the surrounding of our house.<br />
<br />
Despite my relative detachment from it all, I have sort of become witnessed the entire experience, not only from within but also from without. I may have not seen most of the physical sequences but somehow, inside my head I was aware that something not ordinary was happening even before the elders has come to the open about it. Aside from my mother and father, It was only Uncle Bert and Manang Lita , our Yaya that had knowledge about the things that was about to come open in this hastily scheduled meeting although most of us in the household already was aware of the unusual sickness of grandma, There nights when our sleep were disturb by the sudden shrieking and crying of the grandma, right in the middle of dawn. Every time grandma was attacked by that “sickness”, she become uncomfortable and her face assumed a distraught look that she seems to look like somebody else. Manong Godo, my ninong, his brother Nito and wife Melinda were allowed to hear the testimonies for they were nearly our relatives, leaving so close to us and having been in very good relations with our family,”
yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-38296776425382709272017-10-09T13:32:00.002+08:002017-10-13T15:46:51.744+08:00Zamboanga Hermosa 2017 Schedule of ActivitiesZamboanga City and its residents is once-again geared up for month-long celebration of the 2017 Zamboanga Hermosa Festival.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOjZIdU2caAuaDXfk9RPxXImYPAihzn8rHTB5dwvaHk_SqF53w1rO6T2FyAQfznTIeHX0-rAzbIfzAD0BdW-1GLn6CRBwUwU7i1a1UBbvx01Vjj7ba8Em-fz_XE4yWCUrK37M0w/s1600/for+ppt+cover-01+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOjZIdU2caAuaDXfk9RPxXImYPAihzn8rHTB5dwvaHk_SqF53w1rO6T2FyAQfznTIeHX0-rAzbIfzAD0BdW-1GLn6CRBwUwU7i1a1UBbvx01Vjj7ba8Em-fz_XE4yWCUrK37M0w/s320/for+ppt+cover-01+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here are the schedule of activities:<br />
<br />
The traditional merry-making parade<br />
in the barangays of Zamboanga City<br />
Inter-Barangay Fiesta Arco Competition<br />
September 23, 2017, Barangays<br />
<br />
Pre-fiesta Extravaganza District 1<br />
September 23, 6PM, Saturday<br />
Ayala Gymnasium<br />
<br />
Pre-fiesta Extravaganza District 2<br />
September 24, 6PM Sunday<br />
Boalan Elementary School Covered Court<br />
<br />
The Dog Walk<br />
September 28, 6:30AM, Thursday<br />
Pasonanca Park<br />
<br />
Zambassadors School Tour<br />
September 25-27, Monday-Wednesday<br />
Various Schools<br />
<br />
Zambassadors Mall Tour and Original Chavacano Video Music Festival 2017 Launching<br />
September 28, 6PM, Thursday<br />
CityMall Tetuan<br />
<br />
Zambassadors Mall Tour<br />
KCC Mall de Zamboanga GF Activity Area<br />
September 29, 6PM, Friday<br />
<br />
Smoke Out Zamboanga – Grilled Food Fiesta<br />
September 30-October 11, 2017, Friday-Wednesday<br />
R.T. Lim Boulevard<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Grand Midnight Sale<br />
September 30-October 11, 2017, Friday<br />
Wednesday-R.T. Lim Boulevard<br />
<br />
Copa de Paz Pre-Hermosa Festival Golf Tournament<br />
Sept 30, Friday, Zamboanga Golf Course & Country Club<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Hermosa Festival Opening Salvo<br />
ft. Inter-Barangay Bandoreal Competition and Pink Parade<br />
October 1, 2017, 3PM, Sunday<br />
Tetuan Central School to Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum<br />
<br />
2017 Zamboanga Hermosa Festival Chess Tournament<br />
October 1, 2017, Sunday CityMall Tetuan<br />
<br />
22nd Little Princess Zamboanga 2017<br />
October 1, 2017, 4PM, Sunday<br />
Astoria Plaza Ballroom, Grand Astoria Hotel<br />
<br />
<br />
See Zamboanga through the masterpieces<br />
of our featured young artists!<br />
Cosechas de Zamboanga<br />
October 1-15, 2017, Sunday<br />
Plaza Pershing<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Art Exhibit<br />
October 2-8, 2017, Monday-Sunday<br />
City Mall Tetuan<br />
<br />
Hermosa Heritage Zone Walking Tour<br />
October 2-11, 2017, Monday-Wednesday<br />
City Tourism Office, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Teen and Kid Trends ZC of the Year<br />
October 2, 2017, 6PM, Monday<br />
CityMall Tetuan<br />
<br />
Novena Masses<br />
October 3-11, Tuesday-Wednesday<br />
Procession - 5AM, Cathedral to Shrine<br />
Holy Mass - 6AM, 7:30PM, 6:30PM<br />
Novena Mass - 5PM<br />
<br />
4th Conferencia de Cultura y Artes de Zamboanga<br />
October 3-4, 2017, 8AM-5PM, Tuesday-Wednesday<br />
Centro Latino, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Pet Parade and Blessing<br />
October 4, 2017, 8AM, Wednesday<br />
Jardin de Maria Clara Lobregat, Pasonanca<br />
<br />
IIEE-ZAMBASULTA 5th Western Mindanao Regional Conference<br />
October 5-7, Thursday-Saturday<br />
Garden Orchid Convention Center<br />
<br />
World Teachers Day<br />
October 5, Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum<br />
<br />
1st Asao Lechon de Zamboanga Festival<br />
October 5, 2017, 5PM, Thursday<br />
Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Miss Zamboanga 2017<br />
October 5, 2017, 7PM, Thursday<br />
Astoria Regency Convention Center, Pasonanca<br />
<br />
1st Open Invitational La Hermosa Volleyball Tournament<br />
October 6-8, 2017, 1PM, Friday-Saturday<br />
Sta. Maria Covered Court<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Open Invitational Bowling Tournament<br />
October 6-8, 2017, Friday<br />
Tebi and Sean Recreational Center<br />
<br />
1st Zamboanga Construction Exposition (ZAMCONEX)<br />
October 6-8, 2017, Friday<br />
Ground floor, Event Area, KCC Mall de Zamboanga<br />
<br />
2nd Hermosa Koi Show and 1st ABA Zamboanga National Show<br />
October 6-8, 2017, Friday-Sunday, CityMall Tetuan<br />
<br />
ZAMPEX 2017 (Zamboanga Peninsula Exposition 2017)<br />
October 6-10, 2017, Friday-Tuesday<br />
Madrid Hall, Palacio del Sur<br />
<br />
ZamPen iCon (Zamboanga Peninsula Investment Conference)<br />
October 6, 2017, Friday<br />
Theater, Garden Orchid Hotel<br />
<br />
<br />
Asia's Latin City hosts the most anticipated<br />
Dancesport Competition<br />
Zamboanga Dancesport Competition<br />
October 6, 2017, 1PM, Friday<br />
City Coliseum<br />
<br />
FDAZ Fashion Show: TEJIDO<br />
October 6, 7PM, 2017, Friday<br />
Astoria Regency Convention Center, Pasonanca<br />
<br />
Copa del Alcalde Golf Tournament<br />
October 7-8, 2017, Saturday-Sunday<br />
Zamboanga Golf and Country Club<br />
<br />
2nd Zamboanga Hermosa Festival Sepak Takraw Regu Men & Women Competition<br />
October 7-8, 2017, Saturday-Sunday<br />
UZ IHK Veterans Campus<br />
<br />
3rd Zamboanga Mountain Ultramarathon 2017<br />
October 7-8, 2017, Saturday-Sunday<br />
Hacienda de Palmeras<br />
<br />
<br />
This year's Chavacano song<br />
compositions are Anthem Music.<br />
Hermosa Cheerleading Competition<br />
October 7, 2017, 1PM, Saturday<br />
Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum<br />
<br />
La Grand Procesion de la Santas Imagenes<br />
October 7, 2017, 6PM, Saturday<br />
Ateneo de Zamboanga University Grounds to Fort Pilar<br />
<br />
Original Chavacano Video Music Festival 2017<br />
October 7, 2017, 7PM, Saturday<br />
Centro Latino, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Regional Eliminations 12th Philippine Sudoku Super Challenge<br />
October 7, Saturday, KCC Mall de Zamboanga<br />
<br />
2017 Zamboanga's Top Model Search, The Mannequin<br />
October 7, 2107, 7PM, Saturday<br />
Royce Convention Center, Grand Astoria Hotel<br />
<br />
2017 Zamboanga Hermosa Open Weightlifting Championships<br />
October 8-9, 2017, Sunday-Monday<br />
UZ IHK Veterans Campus<br />
<br />
Color Blast Fun Run and Zumba<br />
October 8, 2017, 4:30AM, Sunday<br />
KCC Mall de Zamboanga Centor Pastoral Parking Area<br />
<br />
Regatta de Zamboanga 2017<br />
October 8, 2017, 7AM, Sunday, R.T. Lim Boulevard<br />
<br />
Wow Sardinas Grand Boodle Fight<br />
October 8, 2017, 11AM, Sunday, R.T. Lim Boulevard<br />
<br />
Inauguration of the Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Gym<br />
October 8, 2PM, Sunday, Mampang<br />
<br />
Golpe de Zamboangueño 2017<br />
October 8, 2017, 4PM, Sunday<br />
Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum<br />
<br />
Miss Southway Square 2017<br />
October 8, 7PM, Sunday, Astoria Plaza Ballroom<br />
<br />
<br />
Watch this haute couture showdown<br />
with this year's theme "Brilliantes"<br />
KLive 2: The Reboot<br />
October 8, 2017, 1-7PM, Sunday<br />
Centro Latino, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Mascota de Zamboanga Competition 2017<br />
October 8, 2017, 7PM, Sunday<br />
Garden Orchid Hotel Theater<br />
<br />
Mi Ciudad Limpio y Floriao<br />
Ocotber 9, 2017, 4PM, Monday, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Zumba Dance Party<br />
October 9, 2017, 6PM, Monday<br />
Paseo del Mar Open Stage<br />
<br />
Slingshot Halal Philippines<br />
Oct 9, Garden Orchid Hotel Theater<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Hermosa Festival Queen 2017<br />
October 9, 2017, 7PM, Monday<br />
Astoria Plaza, Grand Astoria Hotel<br />
<br />
Parade of Lights (Float Competition)<br />
October 10, 2017, 6PM, Tuesday, Nuñez Extension to City Hall Grounds<br />
<br />
<br />
Don't miss this spectacular lights show<br />
on October 10!<br />
Concierto na Ayuntamiento<br />
October 10, 2017, 7PM, City Hall Grounds<br />
<br />
Regional Consumer Conference (RECCON 2017)<br />
October 10, 6PM, Tuesday, Garden Orchid Hotel Theater<br />
<br />
Balik Zamboanga Night<br />
October 10, 2017, 7PM, Wednesday, Patio Palmeras<br />
<br />
Zamboanga Hermosa Streetdance Competition<br />
and Fiesta Main Program<br />
October 11, 2017, 1PM, Wednesday<br />
City Fire Station to Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
<br />
For the first time, the Streetdance Competition<br />
is Open to all cities, provinces, and<br />
municipalities in the region!<br />
Feast of Our Lady Of The Pillar<br />
October 12, 2017, Thursday, Fort Pilar Shrine<br />
<br />
2017 Regional Inter-school Taekwondo Championships<br />
October 12-14, 2017, Thursday-Saturday<br />
KCC Mall de Zamboanga<br />
<br />
28th Hot Sands Ceremonials<br />
October 12-14, 2017, Thursday-Saturday<br />
Lutong Pinoy Resort<br />
<br />
2017 Regional Inter-school Taekwondo Championships<br />
October 12-14, 2017, Thursday-Saturday<br />
KCC Mall de Zamboanga<br />
<br />
1st Zamboanga Hermosa Invitational Judo Tournament (The Mayor's Cup)<br />
October 13-14, 2017, 1PM, Friday-Saturday<br />
WMSU Gymnasium<br />
<br />
National Darts Tournament<br />
October 14-15, Saturday-Sunday, Tebi & Sean Sports Complex<br />
<br />
2nd Hermosa Climb<br />
October 14-15, 2017, 7PM, Saturday-Sunday<br />
Tabu-Tabu Peak, Binalabag, Upper La Paz<br />
<br />
<br />
Submit up to three photos taken during<br />
the festival. The theme for this year<br />
is "Zamboanga en Movimiento"<br />
or "Zamboanga in Motion"<br />
Danza La Vida (Street Party)<br />
October 14, 2017, 7PM, Saturday, Yubenco Tetuan<br />
<br />
Fiesta Hermosa Job Fair CSWDO-PESO<br />
October 20, 2017, 8AM Friday<br />
Centro Latino, Paseo del Mar<br />
<br />
Hermosa Photography Competition<br />
October 20, 5PM, Friday – Deadline of Submission<br />
October 22, 11AM, Sunday – Exhibit<br />
October 29, 11AM, Sunday – Awarding<br />
<br />
Silingan Seni (Artistic Neighbor) Visual Arts Festival<br />
October 24-25, 2017, Tuesday-Wednesday<br />
Ateneo de Zamboanga University<br />
<br />
Fiesta Pilar National Flowerhorn Competition<br />
October 26-29, Thursday-Saturday, LB Supermarket Covered Parking Lot<br />
<br />
National Youth Day 2017<br />
November 6-10, 2017, Monday-Friday, Zamboanga City<br />
<br />
Dia de Mayor Cesar C Climaco<br />
November 14, 2017, Tuesday, Climaco Freedom Park, Pasonancayusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-89349247094712772732017-10-06T14:22:00.000+08:002017-10-06T14:44:47.002+08:00Download the Schematic Diagram for Proper Installation of Booster Pumps<br />
You can download a copy of the "Schematic Diagram for Proper Installation of Booster Pumps" at this link. <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://1drv.ms/w/s!ApZA63f5si0cpHaHehPQmLQ4pZTR" target="_blank">DOWNLOAD LINK.</a></span></b><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=10721670" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=10721670" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b><br /></b>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuxqZ34VN9fLlE1WdOiuQ6ty_6E6r9Uit5Q8l5_gFbGPb6MndBFY2WBfyrZkc5PUhx1oHRqZXXejcF5aZfmwt9sCwFR9Go0H-5AjnxJADwulvdXLin5yuTUB_kZhldJCwjCyDzw/s1600/Schematic+Diagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="764" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuxqZ34VN9fLlE1WdOiuQ6ty_6E6r9Uit5Q8l5_gFbGPb6MndBFY2WBfyrZkc5PUhx1oHRqZXXejcF5aZfmwt9sCwFR9Go0H-5AjnxJADwulvdXLin5yuTUB_kZhldJCwjCyDzw/s400/Schematic+Diagram.png" width="400" /></a></b></div>
yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-83924481121687911442017-09-29T13:47:00.000+08:002017-10-13T15:45:37.831+08:00SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM ON THE PROPER USE OF BOOSTER PUMPS<div>
<b>A.</b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Laws on the Proper Use of Booster Pump</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004/Sanitation Code of the Philippines</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Per standard regulation, the use of booster pump is actually an allowed practice for water service concessionaires in instances when it is installed in the proper manner. However, existing laws and policies have strictly prohibited the improper use thereof, wherein it is installed in such a way that it siphons off water directly from the water meter. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Booster pumps that directly draws water from the pipelines (after the water meter) poses great health hazards to the community as the forceful flow of water could introduce harmful elements to the water supply system. The extremely vigorous flow of water often damage water meter mechanisms and in times of low water pressure, illegal use of booster pumps precludes other water concessionaires from obtaining adequate water flow from the distribution lines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As provided under Section 27 (0) of R.A. 9275, otherwise known as the “Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004” “Directly using booster pumps in the distribution system or tampering with the water supply in such a way as to alter or impair the water quality” is a prohibited act.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Moreover, Section 13 (e) of Presidential Decree No. 856, otherwise known as the “Code of Sanitation in the Philippines” provides that “the installation of booster pump to boost water direct from the water distribution line of a water supply system, where low-water pressure prevails is prohibited.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>B.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ZCWD Policy, Rules & Regulation</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Board Resolution No. 171, Series of 2004</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ZCWD Board Resolution No. 171, Series of 2004 had made it clear and explicit to prohibit the use or operation of booster pumps that draw directly from the water meter. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Further, B.R. No. 171 mandates that water service accounts found to be illegally operating or using booster pumps shall be disconnected immediately without further notice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Penalties</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The following penalties are imposed for the illegal use of booster pumps (based on IRR of RA 8041):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Classification of Account Amount</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Residential/Domestic/Government Php 6,350.00</div>
<div>
Semi-Commercial 8,850.00</div>
<div>
Commercial 11,350.00</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>C.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>PROPER INSTALLATION OF BOOSTER PUMPS FOR WATER SERVICE CONNECTIONS</b></div>
<div>
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The use of booster pump may be allowed in instances where its installation is in conformity with the proper guidelines as set by existing laws and ZCWD policies, rules & regulation.</div>
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Steps and Necessary Equipment in the Proper Installation of Booster Pump:</div>
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The use of booster pump should be in accord with the following guidelines:</div>
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<ol>
<li>The booster pump should be installed after the water meter of the water service connection provided that a sump tank should be positioned before the booster pump.</li>
<li>After the sump tank, an overhead tank is installed to act as reservoir of the water that is siphoned by the booster pump from the said sump tank. (Please see Schematic Diagram and/or illustrated guide in the proper installation of booster pumps pumps.) </li>
<li>The booster pump may also draw water from the sump tank towards lower level distribution system within the household or commercial establishment.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7xXm1QMh0woTBCsdXm35kK7PKHOvhzihn5eh1qo-i6kTHqbAUqMIqUnPXbp-3s-334FBL7KG5Ek9BjJ6fM-Hx7LTbEHOQ3tYciiTKzwCKlSUgiUgV7GWbVaWq_ABWj6x17hCNA/s1600/Schematic+Diagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="609" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7xXm1QMh0woTBCsdXm35kK7PKHOvhzihn5eh1qo-i6kTHqbAUqMIqUnPXbp-3s-334FBL7KG5Ek9BjJ6fM-Hx7LTbEHOQ3tYciiTKzwCKlSUgiUgV7GWbVaWq_ABWj6x17hCNA/s320/Schematic+Diagram.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-75730633747082910612017-09-29T11:51:00.000+08:002017-10-17T08:07:50.247+08:00What Is The Meaning of Life?I was walking the downtown streets some days ago, feeling a little bit restless for reasons unknown to<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS327qSm14ZnfyUm0jZYv41fCC7jOXzjMl3LtV-9KJ7PwwbTvgFnJ6POEU6HJK9hfGZWZgzePge_AIf76QppUOjtADL8sCMBRqd_2rnrJxIQU2wHpSqfOiZO_Gd7_ogFSf-7HibQ/s1600/8917914405_46bca5c7fe_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS327qSm14ZnfyUm0jZYv41fCC7jOXzjMl3LtV-9KJ7PwwbTvgFnJ6POEU6HJK9hfGZWZgzePge_AIf76QppUOjtADL8sCMBRqd_2rnrJxIQU2wHpSqfOiZO_Gd7_ogFSf-7HibQ/s320/8917914405_46bca5c7fe_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
me specifically, at least to the one or those that I could not pinpoint to with reasonable certainty. Perhaps this is one sort of a malady that I have read about once before in some old decrepit medical book stacked in my mother-in-laws deteriorating wooden cabinets, those that were partly eaten by termites, looking so fragile that a simple disturbance on it would let spew a handful of mashed-up and grounded wooden particles—which I find to be so repulsive knowing that they were the end results of some crawlers’ eating frenzy.<br />
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This malady is sometimes called depression or anxiety problems (they go by many names depending on the author of the medical book I read) and once in a while I retreat into this state and like water, I just have to let go of it for I could not rein it in my hands—no matter what.<br />
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I passed by the new barbershop just in front of the old Ever theater—one that had seen better days—and I thought I might get my hair done. I stared at a glass partition from a nearby store and had an inkling that my hair wasn’t as disheveled as I thought it was. I even saw it to be fitting to me despite the general rugged look and I had thought then that moviestars have lengthy hairs even if they were males, having that blown away look. I was a little worried that if one sports a blown away and rugged crown of hair and at the same time not being a moviestar, one might be easily taken for a madman walking the streets at high noon. But that sidewalk mirror was good to me and I felt that my uncut hair would be fit for a star. Some mirrors are good to me ; mostly they are not—especially those in my bedroom.<br />
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So I passed with having a quick haircut that day and hoped that the blown away look would be fitting enough for me for quite a number of days more. I then strolled farther down the city sidewalks and came towards a crevice full of DVD stalls and I felt a little blown away after seeing so many titles available and on a dirt cheap prices at that, considering that for 80 bucks, one can get a DVD disc that contains 8 to 12 movies in it, and most of them were blockbusters and of very recent release. Some of them were not even shown yet here in local theaters. That’s how tempting it was for movie aficionados like me. I could not say now that I haven’t had scored myself some pirated items before (I had been smoking a brand of cigarette smuggled from Hongkong when I was in college) and of course, it would be unthinkable for me to not have seen a pirated movie before. I had of course.<br />
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But while I was glancing on stacks and stacks of DVD disks, my mind was swinging between the forthrightness of not buying a pirated item and having a devilish pleasure on filling my hunger for movies at throwaway prices. I could always remember that video clip that goes with every movie I rent from video stores and the loud, thundering reminder that says: “You Don’t Steal A Car! You Don’t Steal A House! You Don’t Steal A Movie!”, and somehow my inner conscience is disturbed by such that whenever that clip goes in every movie I rent, I wanted to shout at whoever that guy behind the thundering voice and belch, “Stop It! I Heard You. You Don’t Have To Remind Me That All The Time. You’re Not My Mother!”<br />
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My inner conscience had gotten the better of me that time so I just slowly walk away from stacks and stacks of salacious movies and guilty pleasures. I then remember that a new Video City branch had opened just a block away and I headed immediately towards it. The moment I had gazed through the available movie titles, I felt an immediate surge of gleefulness inside me since I hadn’t expected that the new video store could offer such voluminous number of titles, especially of recent ones. The video store where I usually get my dose of movies is so miserably lacking in inventory that I guess I won’t be visiting it from now on, except perhaps in some momentary lapse of reason in the future.<br />
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I felt like a child lost in a sea of movie titles and I almost picked up every disk that had caught my eye, until I reached the “Drama” section and there in front of me was a copy of Wong Kar Wai’s “2046” and I was excited to high heavens. It had been much talked about in the net world about how good it was and for a long time, I was trying to get my hand on a copy of it, and for a while there I thought I wouldn’t be able to see it for it would be unthinkable that it’d be exhibited in local theaters considering that it was released about three years ago. And I haven’t had seen any trace of it in every video rental store I went before.<br />
<br />
I had anticipated this movie ever since I have grown a special fondness for oriental art films, especially those of the legendary filmmaker Zhang Zimou, whose film “Farewell To My Concubine” was so wonderfully entertaining and had primarily introduced me to other notable movies from China or Hongkong. Before that, ever since I was in high school, I had been delighted by the magic of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpieces like “Ran” and “Dreams”.<br />
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And so “2046” was about a writer who had become so engrossed about his own written piece that he saw himself being dragged into it, and feeling the pains and longings of the characters he had made himself. “2046” was a work about a train that once in a while travels towards the year “2046” and no one who goes there ever came back, except for one, the male protagonists. It is said that those who journey towards this strange destination are those who are longing for love, perhaps a kind that could not be found here at present, for how come they have to travel towards a point of no return just looking for it? What love is there out there that some have risk even their own mortal existence just to gain it? It was written by the writer that nobody actually knows how long for one to get to “2046”, for some it would be faster, but sometimes, to those unlucky travelers, it might take so long that they would start to lose their senses and sanity while inside the rain, having nothing to do except sit down and wait for the arrival time, one that is not definite and without any sign of coming. The main male protagonist in the novel had such kind of journey, one that was so lenthgy and seemingly unending that he fell in love with an android, an artificial human being stewarding the train.<br />
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The writer had his own life in the movie “2046”, a life lived sometime in the 1960’s where according to him “he just found himself to be in”. He earn his meals by writing columns and kung-fu stories for local dailies and billeted himself in a room with a door number that states “2046”. That was where he had sourced the title for his novel, a number which in his own mind had taken his fancy and unusual interest.<br />
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Along the way, he met a wife of another man named Bai Ling, who had runned away from her husband for having another woman and had rented a room just across his own. They slowly fell for each other and started a torrid affair filled with nights of passion and unhindered bliss. Until one day the woman asked him if ever he wanted to stick it out with him. But the writer wouldn’t agree to be exclusive to one single woman and stressed that he was seeing other women while he was having an affair with her. Bai Ling was furious and ended their relationship with tears flooding from her eyes and agitation painted all over her face.<br />
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They both started seeing other people and whenever they passed each other in public gatherings, they both pretend not to know each other and according to the writer, it was difficult to pretend and not notice her. It was clear that it was more difficult for Bai Ling to pretend and it showed so much in the utter sadness that found harbor in her teary eyes.<br />
<br />
Six years later, the writer was in a relationship with a woman that had a similar name to a woman he had an affair so many years ago. It wasn’t Bai Ling, but another one who had resembled Bai Ling’s general appearance, a circumstance that had led me to ponder whether or not Bai Ling and Su Lizhen was one and the same person. The new woman eventually left the writer for some undeclared reason for she said, “she just have to go away”.<br />
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And inside a car—drunken and weary—the writer finally realized that he is starting to lose ‘the meaning of life’. He was thinking to himself and thought that six years ago, he had a chance to find the meaning of life when the beautiful Bai Ling offered herself to be his long time partner. But he had other ideas and now regretted it.<br />
<br />
He met Bai Ling for one more time but the feeling was never the same again and it had seemed that in the end, he had entirely lose grasp on what in his mind was “the meaning of life”.<br />
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The movie “2046” eventually ignited in me the question about life and its meaning. I try to see myself in the writer’s own predicaments and evaluate if I had what he call as “the meaning of life”. Have I lost it? Or I am living it? Or perhaps, the meaning is just not clear at all.<br />
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One way or another, we all are trapped within the world we now dwell, sometimes embroiled in raucous routine everyday conducts, sometimes just swaying to where the wind blows, and often forgetting that at the end of the day, we might not be able to entirely grasp the so-called “meaning of life”. What’s in store for me when I grow old? Where am I heading? Am I happy or am I miserable?<br />
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Am I that sort of individual who would jump into a train and head to “2046”?<br />
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These are just questions and I hope that this momentary bout with depression would vanish like thin air. And then I’ll have in my full grasp the so-called “meaning of life” by then. Whatever that means.yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-52762572245284755412017-09-14T18:59:00.002+08:002017-10-23T11:55:33.713+08:00FORMS OF ILLEGAL WATER SERVICE CONNECTIONS<div style="border-bottom: double windowtext 3.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: thin-thick-small-gap windowtext 3.0pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;">
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In 1995, the Ramos government passed the National Water Crisis Act of 1995 (RA 8041) to respond to an impending nationwide water crisis. This law states the need for water utility in the the government to adopt urgent and effective measures to address the nationwide water crisis which adversely affects the health and well-being of the population, food production and industrialization process.</div>
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The Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), as a government water utility, is presently involved in a massive campaign to put a stop and eradicate all forms of illegalities relating to water service connections. Under Republic Act No. 8041, otherwise known as the “National Water Crisis Act of 1995”, several acts relating to water service connection are considered illegal acts that are punishable by fines and imprisonment.</div>
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These acts mainly involve direct tapping to water mains and tampering of water meters to include several other specific violations. Section 8 of R.A. 8041 provides that the following acts are considered illegal water service connections, to wit:</div>
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<ol>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>DIRECT TAPPING OF PIPELINE/UNAUTHORIZED REOPENING OF CLOSED/ABANDONED WATER SERVICE CONNECTION</b> - is the tapping at ZCWD pipeline without its consent or the unauthorized reopening of closed water service brought about by the non-payment of water bill/bills. This is often done by inserting garden hoses or pipes between the ZCWD main source and the customer’s distribution pipe in order to illegally draw water.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7S1D9dvDjF2ohGdLcrgDwRKt14nR_EXwaKfZlMhPo9XdG1ZiwEr6wcTYf_pZHBhGi0bZb6wpUZ4ejCIkpDWEEPPXuXmVRSX0AK_Kj87wv4CkuQe2XLWnV0dNsfTw4npJG7df_DA/s1600/Direct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1431" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7S1D9dvDjF2ohGdLcrgDwRKt14nR_EXwaKfZlMhPo9XdG1ZiwEr6wcTYf_pZHBhGi0bZb6wpUZ4ejCIkpDWEEPPXuXmVRSX0AK_Kj87wv4CkuQe2XLWnV0dNsfTw4npJG7df_DA/s400/Direct.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>DOUBLE TAPPING</b> - refers to two or more service connections of a single dwelling/building separately tapped to ZCWD main source, one or all of which is not connected to the water meter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc76DOJTOjvf7cBpUC8OJHtVkjwGf8GD_hmTJviZhe3jDJYtIX9-AVwIH4fC2fF4ypCkSQcNFH3GtSAHtIJB1Hhyphenhyphen7wyTgIlF6gZ6hGis1MNKuBI4BYJLu8E5ax551q427RSlNqg/s1600/double+tapping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1408" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc76DOJTOjvf7cBpUC8OJHtVkjwGf8GD_hmTJviZhe3jDJYtIX9-AVwIH4fC2fF4ypCkSQcNFH3GtSAHtIJB1Hhyphenhyphen7wyTgIlF6gZ6hGis1MNKuBI4BYJLu8E5ax551q427RSlNqg/s400/double+tapping.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>BYPASS CONNECTION</b> - refers to two or more service connections of a single dwelling/building separately tapped to water mains of the water/sewer utility concerned, one or all of which is not connected to the water meter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSkBIgQsjmFwPWYr7pVcqyc4MlNzTT2_8gjV3hFTzdcEwmTL5HxkrZzu9tTwqwoV5VmU62jnGZCvABd9HK-zuWYKOxWMyf380cb9NmwJ5gglQ1HDR2ff76N5LyAxYUg8QRdj71A/s1600/Bypass.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="466" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSkBIgQsjmFwPWYr7pVcqyc4MlNzTT2_8gjV3hFTzdcEwmTL5HxkrZzu9tTwqwoV5VmU62jnGZCvABd9HK-zuWYKOxWMyf380cb9NmwJ5gglQ1HDR2ff76N5LyAxYUg8QRdj71A/s400/Bypass.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>TAMPERING OF WATER METER</b> - refers to the insertion of wire, stick, coconut midrib, etc, or attachment of magnet to the water meter, shortening of vane wheel and the detachment of the water meter registry dials/mechanisms and meter seals in order to suppress/slow down the rotation of the meter vane or any other intentional act which may result to under registration or stoppage of the meter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRaXBDCEScqUBMWZSydITepq7HBI8KR6kWTJLGGbFrDvK_PItoM__Iaw_kNIBKoSGwQZmJ_vNpVMTHASSBp0uaUmUFcQqnuJt9Nl1ayJgA2DbKwEm1poX-iKmzzZyjuqNQbUOIw/s1600/Tampered.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="384" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRaXBDCEScqUBMWZSydITepq7HBI8KR6kWTJLGGbFrDvK_PItoM__Iaw_kNIBKoSGwQZmJ_vNpVMTHASSBp0uaUmUFcQqnuJt9Nl1ayJgA2DbKwEm1poX-iKmzzZyjuqNQbUOIw/s400/Tampered.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>REVERSED WATER METER</b> - is the deliberate reversing of the water meter in order to alter and reduce the registration of the water consumption.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ust6Td4IfZIYl3YQnfBmqShoF9sv3q2Ir0kJIIw9wX-pBL5r-PEfQ7_7_cfmZhrPJlzoFndCvJ0T6rNomlV7M4t8bkTQUK-uYy1BR2r8Cjwk63BACcoejr-ghpG53_6xd0lXsg/s1600/reversed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1391" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ust6Td4IfZIYl3YQnfBmqShoF9sv3q2Ir0kJIIw9wX-pBL5r-PEfQ7_7_cfmZhrPJlzoFndCvJ0T6rNomlV7M4t8bkTQUK-uYy1BR2r8Cjwk63BACcoejr-ghpG53_6xd0lXsg/s400/reversed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>ILLEGAL DISMOUNTING OF WATER METER</b> – is the deliberate removal of water meter from the angle meter valve in order to draw water directly from the water service connection.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVs5qLFfKSnUnLZ9_3r3dVtw_owzXrA1vd9MGfxS3-PRSOV5S_1y40OOVxbQw_KoDVoHEhAQO1XSpgl-63EHJ3X6Zf-LiZMC4huIz-RSawwCr510KHjVxWnto3igXDC7QLMVgwew/s1600/illegal+dismounting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1272" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVs5qLFfKSnUnLZ9_3r3dVtw_owzXrA1vd9MGfxS3-PRSOV5S_1y40OOVxbQw_KoDVoHEhAQO1XSpgl-63EHJ3X6Zf-LiZMC4huIz-RSawwCr510KHjVxWnto3igXDC7QLMVgwew/s320/illegal+dismounting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>ILLEGAL USE OF BOOSTER PUMP</b> - is the use of pump that draws water directly from the water meter (without passing through sump tank) thus affecting the water pressure as well as the quality of water. Illegal use of booster pump usually contaminates ZCWD water.</div>
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yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-25734070422198760502017-09-13T17:17:00.001+08:002017-10-23T11:55:23.839+08:00WHAT ARE ILLEGAL WATER SERVICE CONNECTIONS?By Benjamin A. Buenaflor & Yusop B. Masdal, ZCWD Legal Department<br />
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<b>Campaign Against Illegal Water Service Connections</b><br />
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The Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD) is presently involved in a massive campaign to put a stop and eradicate all forms of illegalities relating to water service connections. Under Republic Act No. 8041, otherwise known as the “National Water Crisis Act of 1995”, several acts relating to water service connection are considered illegal acts that are punishable by fines and imprisonment.<br />
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These acts mainly involve direct tapping to water mains and tampering of water meters to include specific violations termed as:<br />
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1)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Unauthorized Re-Opening of Closed/Abandoned Water Service Connection<br />
2)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Direct Tapping<br />
3)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By Pass Connections<br />
4)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tampering of Water Meter<br />
5)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Reversing of Water Meter<br />
6)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Illegal Dismounting of Water Meter<br />
7)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Illegal Use of Booster Pump<br />
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Illegal water service connections contribute to non-revenue water (NRW), water that is wasted away thru unrepaired leakages in the distribution lines as well as thru the pilfering of water meters.<br />
<br />
In these circumstances, the viability of ZCWD is highly jeopardized, which in the end, would seriously affect the service that we provide our concessionaires and the public in general.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, illegal water connections jeopardies water supply in general and bring great inconvenience to the community, where their prevalence resulting to low water pressure immediate vicinities. Also, these illegal connections pose health hazards in the form of contamination in the supply of water.<br />
<br />
Considering the foregoing, the ZCWD is seeking the support of Barangays throughout the city, to be vigilant against illegal water connections and to report such incidence to our Office. With the help of the community and the public in general, our drive against the widespread problem of illegal water connection may be successfully accomplished.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>B.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Forms of Illegal Water Service Connections<br />
<br />
For your information, instances of illegal water connections are the following:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Direct Tapping of Pipeline or the Unauthorized Re-Opening of Closed/Abandoned Water Service Connection is the tapping at ZCWD pipeline without its consent or the unauthorized reopening of a closed water service connection brought about by the non-payment of water bills.</li>
<li>Tampering of Water Meter is a form of illegal connection wherein the perpetrators tampers their water meter in order to reduce its registration of their consumption.</li>
<li>By-Pass Connection is a form of illegal connection that is usually done to draw water in a way that the water meter is bypassed.</li>
<li>Reversed Water Meter is the deliberate reversing of water meter in order to alter and reduce registration of water consumption.</li>
<li>Illegal Dismounting of Water Meter is the deliberate removal of water meter from the angle meter valve in order to draw water directly from the water service connection; and</li>
<li>Illegal Use of Booster Pump is the use of pump that draws water directly from the water meter (without sump tank) thus affecting the water pressure as well as the quality of water. Illegal use of booster pump usually contaminates ZCWD water.</li>
</ol>
<b>Penalties/Fines</b><br />
<br />
Republic Act No. 8041 provides that all forms of illegal water connections are punishable by imprisonment from six (6) months to two (2) years with a fine not exceeding double the amount of the value of water stolen or the value of the damaged facilities. <br />
<br />
Moreover, it is also the policy of the ZCWD to collect from customers the value of broken or lost water meter; hence customers are advised to help the District address this form of pilferages by installing protective grills/boxes at their water meters or by checking out its condition every now and then.<br />
<br />
Presently, the ZCWD allows compromise settlement of illegal connection cases by allowing the violators to pay the corresponding penalties as well as other administrative charges, without reaching the courts of law. <br />
<br />
The penalties range from Php 1,000.00 to as high as Php 1,000,000.00 depending on type, extent and duration of the violation, the computation of which are based on the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of R.A. 8041.<br />
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yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-25063690046999857952013-03-04T01:14:00.001+08:002013-03-04T01:17:32.326+08:00Frogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>It’s both startling and astonishing how the weather behaves strangely nowadays. In the initial days of March, when summer was supposed to be ushered in gradually, the rains came pouring in, like an unexpected visitor whom one does not know exactly how to receive—-had it came for a bountiful afternoon chatter over bristling cups of coffee or had just got to stop by due to a vital intent?</b><br />
<br />
And now while May slowly loses its days to another month, the rains are hard to come by and the temperature rises even when night falls so deep into midnight, when it is supposed to be cool and breezy outside, and of course in the living room.<br />
<br />
Strange weather, really.<br />
<br />
So the ground are so dry nowadays that some afternoons ago I decided to weed out the backyard with unwanted growths, having no troubles whatsoever with muddy soil that get stuck in the slippers I wear. I had once popped the idea of landscaping the whole area with Bermuda grasses to my wife—-about a week ago—- but even I had scoffed when she mentioned to me that it would cost nearly ten thousand bucks to have it done by gardeners from the plant store across the highway. What do you actually call these establishments that sells plants and flowers in pots. I actually have no idea as of this moment.<br />
<br />
So for now, the bermudas or carabao grasses would have to wait and I’ve got to contend myself of laboring towards manually eliminating the weeds for now (which can actually grow towards knee level when left unattended for so long) and my oh my, it was so painstaking an activity that my muscles ache all night long after that, and when I woke up the next morning, I could barely walk.<br />
<br />
When I was scything the weeds, I had discovered that frogs were ensconced tightly in some nooks and corners of the waterless ground. I noticed this sight immediately for it was certainly a bit of an aberration to see frogs while water is so absent in an area. Frogs means water or rain. And rain means tadpoles and croaking reverberations in the night.<br />
<br />
I then wonder how these amphibians can keep up with the arid surroundings even when I know that usually they soak themselves in cool water almost all the time. To be sure, it must have meant that frogs have developed adaptation schemes to combat queer weather situation and atypical habitats. Now perhaps there comes the answer to the momentary query of where do frogs goes when the rains haven’t come for a long, long time. They hide themselves in darkened nooks and crevices in the ground, behind and under mossy stones and shady plants, over misty soil where sunrays could not dry up thoroughly.<br />
<br />
This reminds me of an episode of one of my favorite television show when I was a kid, Life On Earth. One unforgettable discussion there was this very strange looking fresh-water fish who can survive for months and months to come even when the ground become so dry that the soil is caked all throughout, like in a span of desert that is so cruel to any shrubbery.<br />
<br />
I remember how the host Mr. David Attenborough—-he with the effervently musky voice—had dug about a couple of feet into the dry ground and grabbed a morsel of mud formation which he then dropped into a huge basin full of water. And then lo and behold, the pack of solidified mud started to move and slowly a funny looking fish swam away like it was just another day in the river.<br />
<br />
It was so amazing how a water creature could survive for so long without water, breathing dry air and being stuck in cakes of mud like a frozen caveman; in order to wait for the rain to finally come and when the water rises again, the strange fish wiggles away into the world where it usually thrive on, and start another cycle in its life span.<br />
<br />
Could you imagine a fish surviving out of the water for far too long, like half a year at a time? I couldn’t. But I remember that there was one fish that could actually do that. Therefore presenting an exception to that famous euphemism of being a “fish out of a water”, like I am so miserable now that I am like a fish out of the water.<br />
<br />
Amazing survivability this fish has. And also those frogs in our backyard.( This is a repost from May 19, 2007)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Frogs V.2<br />
( A repost from May 28, 2007)<br />
<br />
I have some thoughts that I haven’t had elaborated in my earlier post entitled “Frogs” and I can’t seem to get still without scratching this itch, these questions left in my mind. In that previous post, I have pondered on how frogs and other water-loving creatures survived when rains does not fall for a lengthy period of time; this upon observing that frogs actually deposit themselves in shady areas like spongy crevices underneath fairly size stones and behind leafy plants located in areas where the sun could not penetrate that much.<br />
<br />
I see them frogs laying still and unmoving even if I make some hushing noise, apparently determined to hibernate as they read the climate so well—-no rains, therefore we stand still. Amazing tenacity they have for to stand still is to perish where to us humans, we need to move to survive, we could not stand still or else we fail to survive. But frogs could stand still and still survive. In this manner, they could be a better specie—-than we humans.<br />
<br />
Now I kept thinking that the frogs I see on our backyard while the rains haven’t come are exactly of no use to me that despite the fact that they aren’t what we could consider as pest—-like locusts ravaging the ricefields or mosquitoes rummaging on our blood—-I had thought of getting rid of them completely, hauling them one by one from the shady places they hide themselves and throw them out of the fence.<br />
<br />
Yet I felt that I could be completely unfair to them since they aren’t really a pest in the purest sense except that I do not like them leaping and creeping around the pathways when I am navigating the areas in the backyard. Their dark and slimy skin seems to be an odd sight to me.<br />
<br />
I had pondered if in fact frogs are really of use to us human beings. They couldn’t be foodstuff except for some specie plying cleaner locations like ricefields and natural ponds. They can’t also be pets for only stranger individuals had kept frogs as pets; like the ones I saw on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!<br />
<br />
Although I know for a fact that they eat or lick mosquitoes in through their all-too-lengthy tongues and one can say they could help control or regulate widespread mosquito infestations in our environment. But why do we need them when we can just hie off to the nearby grocery store and buy Baygon insect spray or we can just light up a mosquito repellent that we can buy in the sari-sari store across the street. Maybe in the ancient days when the Germans hadn’t yet invented Baygon, that could have been the time that we needed lots of frogs in our surroundings.<br />
<br />
But now, I wonder why they are here, croaking at rainy nights and serenading songs that we ain’t really pond of.<br />
<br />
In our elementary days, we are given basic scientific lessons on the web of life. I remember that so well including those charts that exhibits different food groups that we need to consume in order to live a healthy and well-rounded lives; you know those rhythmic annotations that says “ang itlog ay pampabilog ng mukha”, “and gulay ay pampakinis ng kutis”, such and such thing.<br />
<br />
And in the web of life, we are taught that every creature is of importance to nature and to earth’s existence, that trees could help strengthen the soil and thus prevent erosion, snakes could help minimize rat infestations in the fields, plants spew much-needed oxygen into the air, birds and butterflies can spread seeds for them to grow in a more widespread manner, anteaters help plow the ground in order that seeds could easily grow, fishes give food and nutrients to mankind, and mankind….and mankind….oh by the way, I forgot how mankind could be beneficial to nature; I hope someone could remind me.<br />
<br />
And so that’s how the web of life goes; and intermingling process of creatures that could be helpful to each other and to nature in general; that could be conceptualized also in that lesson we are taught as “food chains”—-frogs eating mosquitoes, snakes eating frogs, eagles eating snakes, man eating eagles…such and such thing. I wonder how eagles really taste. Must have been just like chicken.<br />
<br />
Now let’s go back to frogs—despite that they could help minimize mosquito infestations, we all know by now that Baygon could be better regulators. Have frogs lost their importance in this world? Are they the vestiges of an old and obsolete web of life, that now we have a new form or web?<br />
<br />
Snglguy had once stated that frogs are good barometers of our environment. But what if man could one day invent highly-advanced equipment that could monitor our environment with razor-sharp accuracy, like missile guided Tomahawks that George Bush have? Then, frogs would simply lose every bit of reason to be croaking ugly night songs when the rain comes. Maybe modernity have started to creep into the web of life as we know it, that machines and equipments is starting to dictate another form of system in this world we call Earth that just like in the movies we see, machines could one day rule the world.<br />
<br />
It is a scary thought sometimes. But it is just a thought.( A repost from May 19, 2007)<br />
<br />
It’s both startling and astonishing how the weather behaves strangely nowadays. In the initial days of March, when summer was supposed to be ushered in gradually, the rains came pouring in, like an unexpected visitor whom one does not know exactly how to receive—-had it came for a bountiful afternoon chatter over bristling cups of coffee or had just got to stop by due to a vital intent?<br />
<br />
And now while May slowly loses its days to another month, the rains are hard to come by and the temperature rises even when night falls so deep into midnight, when it is supposed to be cool and breezy outside, and of course in the living room.<br />
<br />
Strange weather, really.<br />
<br />
So the ground are so dry nowadays that some afternoons ago I decided to weed out the backyard with unwanted growths, having no troubles whatsoever with muddy soil that get stuck in the slippers I wear. I had once popped the idea of landscaping the whole area with Bermuda grasses to my wife—-about a week ago—- but even I had scoffed when she mentioned to me that it would cost nearly ten thousand bucks to have it done by gardeners from the plant store across the highway. What do you actually call these establishments that sells plants and flowers in pots. I actually have no idea as of this moment.<br />
<br />
So for now, the bermudas or carabao grasses would have to wait and I’ve got to contend myself of laboring towards manually eliminating the weeds for now (which can actually grow towards knee level when left unattended for so long) and my oh my, it was so painstaking an activity that my muscles ache all night long after that, and when I woke up the next morning, I could barely walk.<br />
<br />
When I was scything the weeds, I had discovered that frogs were ensconced tightly in some nooks and corners of the waterless ground. I noticed this sight immediately for it was certainly a bit of an aberration to see frogs while water is so absent in an area. Frogs means water or rain. And rain means tadpoles and croaking reverberations in the night.<br />
<br />
I then wonder how these amphibians can keep up with the arid surroundings even when I know that usually they soak themselves in cool water almost all the time. To be sure, it must have meant that frogs have developed adaptation schemes to combat queer weather situation and atypical habitats. Now perhaps there comes the answer to the momentary query of where do frogs goes when the rains haven’t come for a long, long time. They hide themselves in darkened nooks and crevices in the ground, behind and under mossy stones and shady plants, over misty soil where sunrays could not dry up thoroughly.<br />
<br />
This reminds me of an episode of one of my favorite television show when I was a kid, Life On Earth. One unforgettable discussion there was this very strange looking fresh-water fish who can survive for months and months to come even when the ground become so dry that the soil is caked all throughout, like in a span of desert that is so cruel to any shrubbery.<br />
<br />
I remember how the host Mr. David Attenborough—-he with the effervently musky voice—had dug about a couple of feet into the dry ground and grabbed a morsel of mud formation which he then dropped into a huge basin full of water. And then lo and behold, the pack of solidified mud started to move and slowly a funny looking fish swam away like it was just another day in the river.<br />
<br />
It was so amazing how a water creature could survive for so long without water, breathing dry air and being stuck in cakes of mud like a frozen caveman; in order to wait for the rain to finally come and when the water rises again, the strange fish wiggles away into the world where it usually thrive on, and start another cycle in its life span.<br />
<br />
Could you imagine a fish surviving out of the water for far too long, like half a year at a time? I couldn’t. But I remember that there was one fish that could actually do that. Therefore presenting an exception to that famous euphemism of being a “fish out of a water”, like I am so miserable now that I am like a fish out of the water.<br />
<br />
Amazing survivability this fish has. And also those frogs in our backyard.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Frogs V.2<br />
( A repost from May 28, 2007)<br />
<br />
I have some thoughts that I haven’t had elaborated in my earlier post entitled “Frogs” and I can’t seem to get still without scratching this itch, these questions left in my mind. In that previous post, I have pondered on how frogs and other water-loving creatures survived when rains does not fall for a lengthy period of time; this upon observing that frogs actually deposit themselves in shady areas like spongy crevices underneath fairly size stones and behind leafy plants located in areas where the sun could not penetrate that much.<br />
<br />
I see them frogs laying still and unmoving even if I make some hushing noise, apparently determined to hibernate as they read the climate so well—-no rains, therefore we stand still. Amazing tenacity they have for to stand still is to perish where to us humans, we need to move to survive, we could not stand still or else we fail to survive. But frogs could stand still and still survive. In this manner, they could be a better specie—-than we humans.<br />
<br />
Now I kept thinking that the frogs I see on our backyard while the rains haven’t come are exactly of no use to me that despite the fact that they aren’t what we could consider as pest—-like locusts ravaging the ricefields or mosquitoes rummaging on our blood—-I had thought of getting rid of them completely, hauling them one by one from the shady places they hide themselves and throw them out of the fence.<br />
<br />
Yet I felt that I could be completely unfair to them since they aren’t really a pest in the purest sense except that I do not like them leaping and creeping around the pathways when I am navigating the areas in the backyard. Their dark and slimy skin seems to be an odd sight to me.<br />
<br />
I had pondered if in fact frogs are really of use to us human beings. They couldn’t be foodstuff except for some specie plying cleaner locations like ricefields and natural ponds. They can’t also be pets for only stranger individuals had kept frogs as pets; like the ones I saw on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!<br />
<br />
Although I know for a fact that they eat or lick mosquitoes in through their all-too-lengthy tongues and one can say they could help control or regulate widespread mosquito infestations in our environment. But why do we need them when we can just hie off to the nearby grocery store and buy Baygon insect spray or we can just light up a mosquito repellent that we can buy in the sari-sari store across the street. Maybe in the ancient days when the Germans hadn’t yet invented Baygon, that could have been the time that we needed lots of frogs in our surroundings.<br />
<br />
But now, I wonder why they are here, croaking at rainy nights and serenading songs that we ain’t really pond of.<br />
<br />
In our elementary days, we are given basic scientific lessons on the web of life. I remember that so well including those charts that exhibits different food groups that we need to consume in order to live a healthy and well-rounded lives; you know those rhythmic annotations that says “ang itlog ay pampabilog ng mukha”, “and gulay ay pampakinis ng kutis”, such and such thing.<br />
<br />
And in the web of life, we are taught that every creature is of importance to nature and to earth’s existence, that trees could help strengthen the soil and thus prevent erosion, snakes could help minimize rat infestations in the fields, plants spew much-needed oxygen into the air, birds and butterflies can spread seeds for them to grow in a more widespread manner, anteaters help plow the ground in order that seeds could easily grow, fishes give food and nutrients to mankind, and mankind….and mankind….oh by the way, I forgot how mankind could be beneficial to nature; I hope someone could remind me.<br />
<br />
And so that’s how the web of life goes; and intermingling process of creatures that could be helpful to each other and to nature in general; that could be conceptualized also in that lesson we are taught as “food chains”—-frogs eating mosquitoes, snakes eating frogs, eagles eating snakes, man eating eagles…such and such thing. I wonder how eagles really taste. Must have been just like chicken.<br />
<br />
Now let’s go back to frogs—despite that they could help minimize mosquito infestations, we all know by now that Baygon could be better regulators. Have frogs lost their importance in this world? Are they the vestiges of an old and obsolete web of life, that now we have a new form or web?<br />
<br />
Snglguy had once stated that frogs are good barometers of our environment. But what if man could one day invent highly-advanced equipment that could monitor our environment with razor-sharp accuracy, like missile guided Tomahawks that George Bush have? Then, frogs would simply lose every bit of reason to be croaking ugly night songs when the rain comes. Maybe modernity have started to creep into the web of life as we know it, that machines and equipments is starting to dictate another form of system in this world we call Earth that just like in the movies we see, machines could one day rule the world.<br />
<br />
It is a scary thought sometimes. But it is just a thought.yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-91500615559300727852012-12-05T14:32:00.003+08:002012-12-05T23:24:17.562+08:00EGGPLANTS LACED WITH SPICES AND DIAMONDS<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-Ivujm3ZbsHLcXZAhcRT0dFpI3fKhiLVqJ13uBI8xpnmMEQOi-wRAadlOAR_VqKJb6BFs9c1BSexO-bZSZELI15BaE-gucLV0gucmH2dtlmRhTU2GnsKBByT23Fk6eEBQg6ZkA/s1600/Talong.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-Ivujm3ZbsHLcXZAhcRT0dFpI3fKhiLVqJ13uBI8xpnmMEQOi-wRAadlOAR_VqKJb6BFs9c1BSexO-bZSZELI15BaE-gucLV0gucmH2dtlmRhTU2GnsKBByT23Fk6eEBQg6ZkA/s320/Talong.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
Lotlot, our helper, said there was no fish available in the neighborhood flea market. I immediately scoured the weather in my mind and asked if the moon was full last night. I’ve had a lot of relations doing fish vending before. Most of them were uncles and older male cousins that in the past, I could hear them worrying so much that the moon was so illuminating in certain particular nights that there would be a slack of business for them during the week. “Masawa in Bulan”, one of them would say which is the Tausug words for “The moon in full”.<br />
<br />
So I suggested to Lotlot to buy eggplants from a nearby sari-sari store so that we could dipped them in eggs and fry them in deep oil. I reckoned that she wasn’t used with this kind of meal that she did not cooked the vegetables the way that I have envisioned them. So I made her buy more eggplants and egg and made them by myself.<br />
<br />
To cook this simple menu, one should need the following:<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>3 pieces Eggplants, fresh from the garden and shiny as a marble. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>2 pieces Chicken eggs (from the healthiest of hens.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>1 teaspoon Salt, rock salt to be more tasty </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>1 quart Fresh coconut oil. If you have some olive oil then you must be some sort of a rich man. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>1 pinch Monosodium glutamate otherwise know as Vetsin.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>1 pinch Pepper balls in small cellophane packages. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
Wash your hands carefully before handling the eggplants for the germs is almost everywhere. Put the eggplants in a cauldron with an inch-deep tap water and make them boil. If you observe the scene of the eggplants within the water, you must be able to see that the eggplant are not fully immersed into the liquid, just the bottom half of them. In this manner, the vegetables would not turn into a soggy sponge, which would lessen the crispiness and taste.<br />
<br />
While you boil the eggplants, bate the eggs in a glass bowl and put salt and vetsin. Bate them so hard like you haven’t got all the time in the world. A lesser purity of egg whites and yellow yolks would minimize the sweetness of eggs, like a woman scorned by her lover. Make the eggs feel good and treat them with all grace and respect, for they are the royalties of food. Without eggs, the way we cook our food would change forever, and never be the same again. Add the pepper into the mixture.<br />
<br />
After a couple of minutes of the boiling of the water, take away the eggplants softly from the cauldron and make them rest into a wide plastic platter. With a smooth surfaced ladle, press the eggplants hard enough to make them flat as the ocean and then dipped them into the bated eggs and proceed immediately to paste them into a scorching oil in the pan. Do not overdo the dipping to evade the existence of burnt eggs which bitterness we do not need at this time. Remember, the eggplants are cooked much later than the eggs so be easy on the dipping.<br />
<br />
After five minutes or so, the eggplants laced with spices and diamonds are ready to serve. I wasted no time in partaking of this heavenly meal and it took me three returns from the rice cauldron before I became satisfied. What a heavenly meal, what satisfaction.<br />
<br />
When we were little, my mother use to cook this kind of meal especially when we run out of money in times when my father’s work as a postman before did not make ends meet in some days that are worse than the others. Because of these past lessons in life, I have learn to respect vegetables and the role they play in alleviating us when fish and meat are too costly at times to place on the dining table. Vegetables have become the heroes of those who are starving and those whose wealth is empty like a rusting tin can. We survive at times when we learn to realize that the things we must enjoy are at most times cheap. We always favor the much costlier foods and disregard the fact that with a little imagination, affordable foods brings us all much closer to ourselves. Fancy foods are sometimes pretentious although they are adorable to the palate. We eat French because the Joneses eat them too. Even in food, we become hypocrites.<br />
<br />
(This a post from 2005, from "<a href="http://prophetdaily.blogspot.com/2005/01/eggplants-laced-with-spice-and.html" target="_blank"><b><i>The Daily Prophet</i></b></a>" )<br />
<br />yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-1007107291306173042012-11-16T07:52:00.001+08:002012-11-16T15:54:56.087+08:00Think You Can Wait Video (Win Win) - The NationalGreat new music from my most favorite new band. It is a song the band made for the independent film "Win Win" which stars Paul Giamatti. And perhaps this is a signal that a new studio album is in the offing.. The guys seem to be well-peaked for another great work.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2psTO8EurH0?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
"Think You Can Wait" is a sure winner, filled with that signature homey and ethereal music only the band could churn.<br />
<br />
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<br />yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10721670.post-31427808088004121672012-11-14T15:49:00.000+08:002012-11-14T21:27:36.234+08:00The Phenomenology of James Bond Movies and The James Bond Character Itself<br />
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<b>I WAS TUNED TO A JAMES BOND MOVIE </b>the other night and caught
it somewhere near its climactic end. I could not anymore tell what movie title
it got but it starred Pierce Brosnan as the iconic English spy. I bet some of
you are aware about the proliferation of James Bond movies on our cable television
for some nights now; it’s sort of a bond movie festival where one can get to
watch a different episode of the spy series at any given night—-or day for that
matter. I remember that this kind of television offering was available to cable
television viewers just about a year ago that it had made me wonder about why
in the world they keep having a marathon of James Bond movies on TV. Maybe a
lot of James Bond fanatics were asking for it and they got just what they
wanted. Although I have no certain idea of a major clamor for a glut of Bond
movies on our boob tubes for I believe that if there were such a major yearning
for a full exhibition of all bond movies, then I must have already read about
it or heard about it. But I didn’t. You could perhaps surmise that the
television company responsible for this is just trying to milk-out what could
have been an expensive acquisition in the past; cashing on it while it still
has juice on it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyways, I am not really much concerned about why Bond
movies are being shown so perfidiously nowadays; I just have some thoughts
about it that I want to extrapolate here. Ever noticed how every Bond movie, no
matter the actor playing it or the title, whether “Moonraker” or “Golden Eye”,
has a very singular thread on its story-line where there seems to always be a
powerful villain hiding in some cave or underwater hideout and that there is
always this satellite-based ultra-modern weapon that could zapped human
existence by just the push of either a red button or red switch (as long as its
red). Pierce Brosnan bond movies are reasonably modern in its make and yet,
most of it is still about that old storyline that ends with gigantic satellite
weapons coming out of the surface of the sea and gets destroyed by the English
spy before it could destroy the Earth. If you’re a kid or a kid by heart,
that’s sort of thing is certainly a swell idea. In fact when I was a kid myself
so many years ago, this is the kind of movie that could wake me up from the
sweetest of slumber, what with all those cool gadgetry and spectacular action
scenes.<br />
<br />
But now that I have grown so well, I finally found these things to be
pure kitsch and somewhat nonsensical. But don’t get me wrong; I am not
complaining about this keen bond movie characteristic for after all, bond
movies are there to entertain us first and foremost. There is just this
subliminal thought that got me rethinking about the basis behind the
entertaining value of Bond movies and of the character of James Bond itself. We
get so fascinated about the idea of world domination that even though we feel
exalted whenever James Bond kicked the asses of the main villain at every end
of this sort of movie, yet it’s the idea of world domination that keeps us
glued to the screen, like it was the hook, the line and the sinker—-all rolled
into one.<br />
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We all like to see what kind of ultra-modern weaponry the new villain
has with every new James Bond movie we watch, how potent it is this time. Like
in real life, we as part of the modern humanity always expect this sort of
villain to come, to pursue world domination by building a humongous and very
powerful weaponry system that is to be activated by either launching a huge
rocket into space or zapping laser beams through a hovering satellite in orbit.
And in hindsight I realized that over the course of our history, James Bond
movie villains have been with us for countless times already through many
different personages—-through Adolf Hitler, through Saddam Hussein, through
Napoleon Bonaparte (he might not be such a pure villain but he pursued world
domination through force—-just like Alexander The Great), through Idi Amin and
General Pinochet or Ferdinand Marcos, through the cruel Roman emperor Nero,
through a cunning Mongolian conqueror, through a series of dictators in Latin
America, and through many others that perhaps history has not paid attention so
well. And in real life, every world domination or attempt at it had been
thwarted and dismantled not a by a singular person like the English spy James
Bond (for this only happens in movies) but either by opposing forces like the
masses that gets sick and tired of oppression or in other instances, by rival
powers that wants to grab dominion for themselves, only to be thwarted again.<br />
<br />
And just like in the movie, every world domination before had crumbled down to
pieces that now—at present—there is no such thing anymore, as if the James Bond
of our lives have always been smart and cunning, that the only idea of world
domination we get today is through trade and economic means where it seems that
in every corner of the world, one in ten individual is using or had used even
for once a product that was made in China. It used to be that in every nook of
the earth, we get either American or Japanese products most of the time. But
now, it China’s turn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now I wonder what if James Bond will fail us in the future?
What if another villain more powerful than ever comes and the James Bond of our
lives fails to stop the mayhem that could be brought by either a
satellite-based weaponry or a humongous rocket that gets thrown into the sky?
Well, I do hope that the day James Bond fails to manhandle the mean villain in the final end of the movie would not be forthcoming. And I hope he won’t ever fail. Ever. <o:p></o:p></div>
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( A repost from <b><i><a href="http://citizenonmars.blogsome.com/2006/12/05/the-phenomenology-of-james-bond-movies-and-the-james-bond-character-itself/" target="_blank">Citizen On Mars </a></i></b>)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />yusophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947573258473155747noreply@blogger.com3