Discover Nokia N82 Cellphone

Ten teams, one night, one phone - all to discover Manila

What or where exactly is the soul of the city? Armed with Nokia's latest imaging wonder, the Nokia N82, ten thrill-seeking and adventure loving teams recently raced against each other and attempted to discover what Manila has to offer after the sun has gone down at the Nokia Nseries Wireless Adventure 2! 

The concept for Nokia Nseries Wireless Adventure 2: Discover the Soul of the Night was similar to the inaugural wireless adventure in 2007 in which participants were tasked to discover new locations and activities in their cities. The twist to this year's race was that it was conducted at night with participants being encouraged to use the advanced features of the Nokia N82 to identify and reveal the 'Soul of the Night' in their city.

The Nokia N82 is equipped with a 5 MP Carl-Zeiss lens, built-in GPS capability and a powerful Xenon Flash that enables users to take excellent photographs wherever they are, even at night.  Beyond that, the Nokia N82 has the latest multimedia functionality that lets consumers capture and share images and stories, and interact online.

Discover the Soul of the Night taps into this unique all-in-oneness of the Nokia N82 to expand the photography experience, encouraging users to not only post great photographs online, but also discover and share their experiences instantaneously through the use of the built-in GPS and advanced wireless connectivity features of the Nokia N82.

The ten teams who joined the Nokia Nseries Wireless Adventure 2 were composed of fun and fearless consumer, celebrity, and media participants all after the Grand Prize of P100,000 and a trip to Macau.  Participants included - Advertising colleagues Ramon Rodriguez and Vina Cruz, Business folk Bea Corpus and Aris Ladaw, Call center friends Sharo Domingo and Karen Pimentel, Cute Couple Niki Santiago and Justin Rivera, Programming partners Jane de Claro Chua and Christian Wong, Philippine Star 's Kathy Moran and musician Paolo Valenciano, Philippine Daily Inquirer 's Pam Pastor and VJ Geoff Eigenman, Gadgets Magazine's Michelle Callanta and Actor Alfred Vargas, and Sunstar Cebu columnist and Radio DJ Charlene Go and Radio DJ / MTV VJ Andi Manzano.

Discovering the soul of the night

Each team member had a Nokia N82 device and were required to complete several tasks from dusk till dawn.  "Before the race, Geoff said we should try to complete every task in twenty minutes or less. I think we managed to do that almost the entire race.  We finished early and even were the first ones at the last stop.  Our other strategy was really to just have fun.  We were intense about the game but we were relaxed too - no temper, no panic. We had a blast!" shares Team Music Fanatics and Super Editor Pam Pastor.  Some of these mind exercising and exciting tasks included decoding a set of clues to get the Help Line Number and styling and taking photos of a fruit platter at Jumbo Floating Restaurant.  "Aris and I found the first task the most difficult which, at the end of the race was disgustingly hilarious!  Math being both our waterloo, it took us a good few minutes to solve the equation!" said Team Culinary Quests' Bea Corpus.  Teams also had to get behind the wheel to play Asphalt 3: Street Rules by Gameloft using the N-Gage application in the phone at the Extreme Gaming Grounds in Mall of Asia, which Team Music Fanatics' Geoff Eigenmann enjoyed. "The easiest task was the video game because I'm a gaming god!"

Teams were asked to shoot a video of their team singing "I Love the Nightlife" at Red Box Karaoke. "The videoke task at Red Box was the easiest," shares Team Voltage Up's and Gadgets Magazine's Michelle Callanta. "Thanks to my mom for making me listen to her disco-loving music!  I think I sang pretty darned well," she added.  Sunstar Cebu columnist and radio DJ Charlene Go also enjoyed the videoke task.  "It was easy to be silly and I love to sing!"

After, teams had to rush to The T-Shirt Project in Tiendesitas and had to put together a unique shirt design.  Then they had to pose for creative shots. "Finding the location on the picture that was given and just capturing photos at those places were easy," said Team Aftershift's Sharo Domingo & Karen Pimentel. Teams were also tasked to shoot a video of their partner's energetic zip performance, take photos of the fiery poi dancers, and take panoramic shots in Eastwood.  "I used to do arnis back in college and when I picked up the zip lines I was thinking maybe I can use some of my old stick drills for this task," said Team Free Spirit's Ramon Rodriguez.  After finishing the last task, teams had to rush to Piedra Bar in The Fort to pose with the models in baroque costumes.  "I thought this task was easy," said Team Free Spirit's Vina Cruz.  "Find 5 masked people in Piedra?? We spent nearly 20 minutes looking for them."  The last task had the teams running to Café Xocolat in Serendra to weave a slideshow story with music and graphics using the photos taken of the team throughout the race.  "I enjoyed the editing part the most," says Team Voltage Up's Alfred Vargas.  "I saw the meaning of the whole night of challenges and pressure through the slideshow that we did."

At the end, it was Team Voltage Up's Michelle Callanta and Alfred Vargas who were declared Souls of the Night.  They went home with the grand prize of P100,000 and a trip to Macau.  Other awards were also given to the other teams such as the Love Team Award, Breakthrough Performance in Fruit Eating Award, I Will Survive Award, Best I Love the Nightlife Comedic Performance Award, Best Soul of the Night Statement Awards, Best Panoman Photo Award, Best Poi Dancer Award, Photographers of the Night Award, and Best Nokia Story Tellers of the Race Award. 

The Nokia Nseries Wireless Adventure 2 was an exhilarating and exciting experience for all the teams.  "It was tiring but super fun!" exclaims Team Femme Fatale and Manila Bulletin writer Therese Camet.  The race also made them realize the immense capabilities of the Nokia N82 - from its camera functionalities, multimedia applications, to its internet ready possibilities.  

The Shameless Wasting of Public Funds by Philippine DepEd

Hysterical outrage is only a mild form of reaction when we learned that the Department of Education unashamedly squandered its 2007 budget amounting in hundreds of millions of pesos and sold the future of our children to the devils of ignorance and poverty. That government arm seems to be more wicked than the Department of Public Works and Highways. At least the DPWH should now be applauded as lesser evil among legions of vampires in Arroyo's empire compared to its cousin, the Department of Misappropriation, or DepEd, for short.

A review of DepEd's 2007 budget, the Congressional Planning and Budget Department (CPBD) found, shows shocking festival of wasted public funds. DepEd, if the CPBD's report were to be believed, sucked the last blood of the country's hope of improving the lives of our people through globally competitive education by buying garbage educational tools and spending totally worthless projects.

"Information and multi-media equipment packages amounting to no less than P667.95 million were neither utilized nor maximized for classroom instructions in 13 regions because they were either defective or distributed to schools which were not strictly selected in accordance with the approved criteria, resulting in the wasteful storage or utilization of the units," the CPBD reported as bannered by GMA News TV this week.

Perhaps DepEd's top officials have not heard of the globalization buzz. That in order to be highly competitive in today's borderless business environment and free world market, every country must embrace the power of technology and information superhighway. Neglect technological advancement and the country will be doomed to extinction in today's digital era.

DepEd is exactly putting the country in the path of economic destruction. By depriving our children of high-tech tools, DepEd is cutting off our children's bridge to the future.

Another shocking revelation is that "84,254 sets of tables and chairs and 150,748 armchairs costing P197 million were allocated to 2,777 elementary and 899 secondary schools that already had adequate seat provisions from 2004-2007 instead of giving them to 2,764 elementary and secondary schools with acute seat shortages," again as reported by GMA News TV.

As if the parade of DepEd's cannibalism isn't long enough, this Department of Misappropriation caused "the number of undistributed textbooks (to have) decreased from 2006 to 2007, a total of 1,275,056 copies of unused textbooks or manuals costing at least P57.3 million remained stored in school stockrooms or libraries in 2007."

The CPBD, as reported by GMA News, also found that "acute classroom shortages in 2,929 schools were also left unaddressed because school building projects worth at least P597.796 million were spent instead on 1,329 school sites that had the least need for buildings and classrooms."

By next year, by the way, our shameless DepEd will get a huge pie of the national budget at P167.94 billion. Will DepEd forget that in 2008 it received P149.25 billion and much of it went down the drain?

Who will be held responsible for such heartless wastage of public funds? Not our ordinary teachers, of course. They don't hold the pen that signs blood-stained government contracts. Our school teachers are already suffering from low salary and they have become innocent hosts to DepEd's wicked schemes.

If no one would be sent to jail and DepEd would continue to bask in barbaric waste, the country is in extreme danger of losing its competitiveness in the world. Our national economy has been sustained by remittances of Filipinos working abroad. Today's children, admittedly, are tomorrow's OFWs . Once our education system becomes a horror picture of wasteland, not only that we would lose opportunities in the booming outsourcing industry, we would also lose our attractiveness as excellent source of manpower abroad.

DepEd's immoral, if not absolutely demonic, habit of wasting public funds has far-reaching consequences in both short and long terms. Our people, by all means, should stop DepEd from killing our nation softly. - Editorial, The Bohol Standard

Philippine Martial Law: Will it Happen Again?

September is one month wherein Filipinos don't want to remember an event but cannot quite forget.

The Dictator Ferdinand Marcos - on September 21, 1972 - declared Martial Law and ruled the country with an iron hand for 14 years.

There is a theory that goes around the bars that Marcos, in his insecurity and fear of America, could not have declared Martial Law without the blessings of Washington. That might be true.

For the 1970s was the height of the Cold War and the communist bogey was often used to scare national leaders that the Reds were knocking at the walls of the nation's capital, ready to grab power by the power of the gun.

But the very cruelty of Martial Law, far from solving the communist insurgency embittered more people that led to the swelling of the ranks of the New People's Army to 250,000 then Marcos, therefore, was branded then - as the best "recruiter of the NPA."

That 250,000 NPA force then is now the equivalent number of the entire personnel of the present Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) today. In turn, the Jabidah Massacre and the slash and burn episodes against the Muslim rebels also escalated the fratricidal war between brother Christians and Muslims.

The entire duration of the country during Martial Law was spent for the country to be perpetually in a state of war.

Consistent with anti-people battles waged in Latin America, many Filipinos disappeared or were assassinated in the old version of the Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) perpetrated by a militant rightist quasi-military group - in the hallowed name of democracy. The Government, then, believed that its duty was to preserve democracy, not to practice it.

The Supreme Court was littered by lapdogs whose Chief Justice's main mission in life was to hold the umbrella to protect the First Lady Imelda Marcos' porcelain face during warm public appearances. The whole Judiciary system was co-opted.

Equally compromised were the local government officials - beholden - by force or circumstance to support the Waltzing Dictators by the Palace while the Congress, in the form of the decadent Batasan Pambansa was an instrument to manufacture rules that made the Dictatorship function.

The business community was run by a Group of Zaibatsus, moneyed and influential families that gobbled for themselves, kin and associates the entire economic wealth and opportunities of the nation. Protected by tariffs and political influence, they bloated into inefficient white elephants that gravely prejudiced the economy.

Except in the later stages of Martial Law, Philippine Media was the epitome of political bias and vastly personal and compromised. It was a shameful episode that out-pushed democratic space and freedom of expression into the gutter. The political debate leading to maturity was in limbo - producing great illiteracy and lack of integrity of political mindsets.

The Military became the sledge hammer that pulverized the nation into submission. They were rewarded with positions of wealth and power. They had to be pampered to keep the Dictatorship in power.

Corruption may not have been as widespread as today - but the graft was concentrated among a few people (Marcos and kin) and empires identified with the Palace called cronies. Many of them, including Imelda Marcos who was identified as a major plunderer are still alive today - prancing with the fruits of their dishonesty. And the whole nation bowed its head then - as if they thanked the Heavens for the ironic gift of suffering and oppression.

Roads and bridges were built - justifying Marcos despotic rule. The truth was, it was in Marcos Martial Law years that the country lagged behind its neighbors in infrastructure that largely explained the lamented state of poverty of the people then and today.

Only Filipino art and culture prospered with Pinoy music and indigenous arts and crafts.

The Cultural Center, the Folk Arts Theater and the Film Center were built. The world-class Heart, Lung and Kidney centers were erected in Quezon City.

Meantime, the white elephant Bataan Nuclear Plant was constructed at the cost of billions - only to have it today as a useless monument of corruption, useless and unutilized.

Political opposition were either jailed or murdered and the electoral process was prostituted by a Comelec that did not know how to count numbers.

All in all, it was a period of shame. We lost our confidence. We lost our sense of identity. We were no longer free Filipinos but part-time slaves.

We remember those times of Martial Law to grieve over our loss and spark our vigilance - that never again should we allow the specter of Martial Law to ever come to pass over our country in our lifetime.

That GMA's Rule has been likened to Martial Law II - without its formal declaration - by some quarters is proof we have short memories.

Remember Santayana who said "that those who do not learn their lessons from their mistakes in history - are bound to repeat them." - Editorial, The Bohol Chronicle

Philippine Tarsier Facing Extinction

The world famous tarsier, which has become a signature of the Philippines' eco-tourism promotion , is threatened extinction as more and more of them are seen in captivity.

The plight of the tarsiers turned into an urgent concern for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) agreeing that there is a need to enforce stringent regulations for the hunting of the small primates and putting them on cages for viewing of tourists.

In an interview with the Chronicle, provincial environment and natural resources officer Nestor Canda said they have noted an increase in the number of tarsiers being captured which could cause the fast dwindling population of the world's smallest primate.

Per estimates, there are only about 700 tarsiers in Bohol's forests found in the towns of Corella, Loboc, Sevilla and Bilar.

The public are also concerned on the commercialization of the tarsier especially those who make money out of it at the Loboc River.

Some collectors have also a taken aim at the shy creatures that are allegedly being sold for P600 in Manila .

According to Canda, they will be recording the number of tarsiers in captivity and monitor deaths and may recommend for cancellation of registered operators who do not comply with the safety of the tarsiers as required in their registration papers.

The DENR also has to determine if the tarsiers are bred in captivity or captured from the wild.

PTC chair Peter Dejaresco disclosed over Inyong Alagad yesterday that there is a need to monitor the plight of the tarsiers which is classified as an endangered specie by the DENR.

Without protection programs, the tarsier population will be critically low that it could become extinct in a few years, Dejaresco added.

Very few tarsiers, which are nocturnal creatures, survive in captivity since they are subjected to stress in the presence of humans.

Loboc Mayor Leon Calipusan also assured that in the coming years, they will be requiring operators to replicate a forest habitat for the tarsiers that are being captured for tourist-viewing. 

National Food Authority (NFA) Lost Billions?

A militant farmers group said the National Food Authority (NFA) lost billions in its rice importation program that will hurt local farmers.

The Hugpong sa mga Mag-uumang Bol-anon (Humabol) said that the Arroyo administration is expected to import 2.296 metric tons of rice this year.

Based on the estimated NFA stock inventory as of July 1, 929,337 metric tons are imported rice which accounts for 97.99 percent of the NFA stock.

While the NFA targets imports to reach 971,145 metric tons, the planned rice grain procurement during the same period is only 51,238 metric tons.

Quoting from a primer of the NFA Employees Association, Humabol said the price of imported rice is more expensive than domestic rice

Humabol said the rice importation has greatly contributed to the NFA's losses especially with the imposition of the rice import tariff.

Even the Department of Finance said that losses of the NFA may reach P43.1 billion if the price of rice in the world market increases to more than $1,000 per metric ton.

Citing NFA sources, Humabol said the Arroyo government's rice importation program is in compliance with its commitment to the World Trade Organization. Under its minimum access volume, the country is obliged to import a certain volume of rice whether or not there is a supply shortage.           

According to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), poor farmers cannot afford to sell their produce to the NFA and cannot avail of the subsidy on fertilizers.

Willy Marbella, KMP secretary general, said landless peasants have to pay for land rent, interest payments for debts they incurred, and also have to shoulder all the expenses in production.

Even with the NFA's mobile procurement program, Marbella said poor farmers cannot sell their produce to the NFA because they have nothing more to sell.

He said their produce goes to the trader from whom they loaned the seeds and fertilizers. 

Feast of St Michael the Archangel

By Joe Espiritu

Ok Mac, its fiesta time. A few days from now will be the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. It will not only be the Jagnaanons, who will celebrate this religious event hut also those from Clarin and San Miguel, Bohol . Farther away, those from Iligan City and Argao, Cebu will be doing the same. Here, the fiesta will not be the same as a few years before, when Jagna celebrated its 375^th anniversary, but it will be as colorful as well.

 There is one thing peculiar in a Jagnaanon. This is; if he cannot be always in Jagna, he will bring Jagna along with him. In any part of the world, where two or more Jagnaanons live, they will celebrate the fiesta on September 29, Sometimes, since they are working, they will celebrate the event on a Sunday nearest that date.  Before that, they will hold a nine-day novena in the house of one of the board of directors and on the day, a priest who is a Jagnaanon will celebrate the mass.

 One of the oldest organizations loyal to the patron saint of Jagna is the Pundok Jagnaanon of Metro Manila. This group is made up of Jagna expats, who had left town years ago that the younger ones here do not know them anymore, and the second-generation expats, who had never been to Jagna. Once, when Padre Saro was the parish priest of Sta Mesa, which church is near the old Stop and Shop the fiesta mass was celebrated there. The party was in Aroma Café in Sta Cruz, Manila . This time, the Pundok holds their celebration in the Aberdeen Court in Quezon City. Perhaps they celebrate the mass there too.

 Another group of Jagnaanons, who follow the same observation are those from far away  . They observe their fiesta in the suburbs of Los Angeles or somewhere near San Francisco. We are not sure, whether they are just one organization since Frisco is some eight hours drive from the City of the Angels. Besides, there are more turtogoks in the former particularly around Salinas and Stockton. But turtogoks sure passports to US citizenship of young Filipinas are dying breed. They are replaced by younger, streetwise Pinoys.

 The California expats have one over, the Pundok members of Metro Manila. They observe the sinulog. Perhaps the Pundok members are more inhibited. There was once a sinulog contingent in the Frisco suburbs one fiesta.  The drummer was a CPA from Looc. He must have observed many sinulog presentations here that he was able to drum out the correct beat. The prancing and banging of shields was the same including the recitation of rhymes more often than not irrelevant to the event. Anyway they are appreciated there by the Pinoys and their Americans guests though the latter do not understand a word of what is going on.

 To commemorate the event, T-shirts emblazoned with the patron saint are given away. We have one and there was a story, which goes along with it. An artist was hired by a sponsor to print the image of the archangel on T-shirts to be given away. The sponsor, an excellent example of a TBTK – Tanang – did not pay the agreed price. In the first samples that came out, the devil under the foot of St Michael was sporting the face of the sponsor. The amount must have been correctly paid since the face of the devil in the later versions was darkened out. 

Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)

By Looking Glass, Sunday Post

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Bohol Chapter is expressing its deepest condolences to the family of the late Judge Rafael Mumar, who was physically incapacitated due to a car accident some years back. He was laid to rest Saturday, September 27 after necrological services at the Lindaville church in Lindaville subdivision. 

  The IBP was represented by Vice Pres. Pepe Estrera, who personally delivered IBP's mortuary aid to the late judge family during the church rites. MTCC Judge Emma Supremo and better - half Asst City Fiscal Conrado Supremo closely coordinated with the IBP president in behalf of the Mumar family to facilitate the assistance.  

       Also passing to eternity this week is the late lawyer Sulpicio Tinampay, who was a former dean of the college of law of the Holy Name University (HNU), and one of Bohol's outstanding legal eagles . The IBP joins the family in honoring an illustrious Boholano lawyer, who literally exercised his profession up to the last moments of his life. His son, lawyer Al Tinampay is expected to continue where his late father left off in the practice of law. 

Attack Against Senate President Manny Villar

The Looking Glass

Column, Sunday Post

      Despite the obvious demolition job orchestrated on the floor of the Senate by the unlikely tandem of Senators Ping Lacson and Jamby Madrigal, the object of their attack Senate President Manny Villar appears unperturbed, and so far has not said any unkind word against them. 

       Villar's multi- partisan allies in the Senate led by administration Senator Joker Arroyo and opposition stalwart Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., including the legislative firebrand Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, continue to support the former vis- a-vis the scurrilous attacks against the Senate Chief. 

       Today's Senate has become the battleground of presidentiables with at least three (3) senators who are widely known as aspiring for the presidency in 2010, namely, Villar, Lacson and Senator Mar Roxas. 

       The vitriolic attacks on Villar is based on the alleged congressional insertions in last year's budget showing that there were two (2) appropriations for the C- 5 road in Metro Manila , a road that is also known as Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. The road appears to have two (2) P200- million appropriations intended for its concreting and improvement. 

       Despite Lacson and Madrigal's tirade on the Senate floor, they have not so far presented hard evidence to prove their accusations that Villar was responsible for the insertions. Nothing in the records would show that Manny Villar had indeed dipped his hand into the questioned appropriation.  

       The bad thing going against Lacson and Madrigal is that both refused to be questioned or interpellated on the Senate floor, which is a showing that they do not have  proof of Villar's alleged wrongdoing. Such actuations are condemnable since they are hiding behind the clock of parliamentary immunity, and are therefore protected from legal retribution. 

       To our mind, Senators Ping Lacson and Jamby Madrigal can never come together with their colleagues in the Senate, neither can they be expected to keep working as team players in the Villar Senate presidency, where working together can only spell legislative success during these tough economic times. They appear to be super stars trying to outshine the moon knowing that this can never  happen even in a democratic environment. 

Congressman Natalio Castillo Sr

By Frony Fortich, Bohol Sunday Post

As a young reporter, I was helping also in the election campaign of then  manager of Southern Industrial Projects, Gregorio Concon, who contested the congressional reelection drive of the late Congressman Natalio Castillo. I was a party of the Concon demolition team and even Chito Castillo, his son knew this well kept secret.

 A few years after when I decided to stay in Manila , Castillo knew me as the son of Guadalupe Canizares, who was her teacher. When he saw me, he asked about my mother and also if I had a job. I said I was jobless at that time. He asked what my profession is, and I replied I was a teacher. He did ask me I have a civil service eligibility which I did, and he asked me to follow to his congressional office, where and there, he wrote a letter to the City Superintendent of Schools of Manila recommending me for a teaching position in the City of Manila. Thereupon, the note was readily recognized and the good superintendent sent me to teach at Manuel Roxas High School in Paco although I did not stay that long because I hated writing lesson plans and I was not really a dyed in the wool teacher.    

Collapse of a Philippine Bridge

Eye Opener, Column, Sunday Post

One of the popular figures during the Marcos administration was the congressman from Ilocos Norte, Tony Raquiza. The Ilocano solon form part of the CRC bloc, composed of Congresmen Manuel Cases, Floro Crisologo and then Tony Raquiza.

 Raquiza was appointed  Public Works and Highways Secretary during the Marcos regime. He once went to Bohol to inspect bridges here. He went to a certain bridge in Sevilla and upon the proddings of certain officials in that area, Raquiza promised to construct a new bridge to replace the old one. He remarked and promised that in 90 days I will "Raquitize this bridge means the facility will be completed.

 In 90 days the bridge was "Raquitized" alright, completed and inaugurated. A day after the inauguration, the bridge collapsed, when I went to the scene as a reporter of the Bohol Chronicle, I saw the collapsed bridge and then some bodies floating on the river. I asked a bystander, how many died since I saw bodies floating, he said about two, wondering aloud that it could be more, and thinking that if six people died, it would certainly get a page one billing at the then popular Manila Times, because of the numbers killed, I wrote the story and also provided another copy to Radio Station DYRD.

 The Manila Times edition carried out the story on page 1 with my byline. How proud I was. A.page one billing with my byline was certainly a scoop to relish.  Later on in the day, the then Chronicle editor called me to come to the Bohol Chronicle . He was a little bit angry and agitated for me being careless with facts and figures as people killed are like typhoons which are always exaggerated in the terms of damages, because obviously the bigger damage estimates, the more money the public officials would get, it is always a secret collaboration between the media and the public officials. So the more people killed, the guarantee of a page one billing in the Manila Times.

 But then later Atty. Zoilo Dejaresco Jr., my boss pointed an accusing finger at me. You are a murderer, how can you, only two people were killed in that bridge collapse, but you reported six people were killed, an exaggeration of figures. As a young reporter, it was only at that time, that I realized the gravity of the journalism crime I committed.

 During the early years, being haughty and 'hambugero" were part of my traits. Imagine there were only three considered newspapermen in town. The late Zoilo Dejaresco Jr., Gov. Erico Aumentado and I. Not that many. When I walked at the capitol everybody was looking at me.