Do you guys still remember Samuel Ong? He’s the former NBI Executive who exposed the Hello Garci scandal. Yep, he was the one with the infamous line “Mother of all tapes”. To those who haven’t been keeping tabs on the news, Samuel Ong passed away 6PM today due to complications with Lung Cancer. Former President Estrada was one of the first politicians to visit Ong. I kinda feel sad though that Samuel Ong died without seeing the resolution of the cause he championed when he came out to the public with the Hello Garci tapes. To all the family and friends of Samuel Ong, I offer my sincere condolences. Details of what happened after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
Initially I wasn’t thinking of blogging about the now infamous Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili Scandal but it looks like it already has blown out of proportion. It’s the most read article on Inquirer.Net and it’s been all over the gossip shows and news programs on TV and Radio. Let me just join everyone who’s condemning Dr. Kho for what he did. To those who don’t know, he recorded the intimate moments he had with women without them knowing it. Justice Secretary Gonzalez goes on to say in an interview that Dr. Kho can actually be jailed for 6 years because of this. Malacanang Palace, on the other hand, is asking the women who were victimized to file charges. At this point, Hayden Kho is really in deep trouble. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve was reading Jayvee’s blog when I stumbled upon this post. Apparently, Finance Usec Espele Sales believes, and I quote, “novels and reading books are non-educational”. Madame Undersecretary… are you serious? I am simply amazed that someone from the government would issue a statement like this. I’ve been an avid reader of novels and books since I was in High School and I’d like to think that reading all of those books have made me a better writer, person, and professional.
Sales and the BOC agreed that “only books or raw materials to be used in book publishing” are to be exempt from taxes and duties.
Critics said their interpretation has violated the 1950 Florence Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials, of which the Philippines was a signatory in 1952.
The treaty has provided for duty-free importation of books to guarantee the free flow of “educational, scientific, and cultural materials” between countries and declared that imported books should be duty-free.
But Sales reportedly brushed off this argument, saying novels and reading books are “not educational.”
I cannot even begin to imagine the international repercussions this would have if this were to be leaked into CNN or something. Imagine - we are the country with a government that believes that novels and reading books are not educational. Man! That’s just ridiculous.
I’m really sorry if this is a bit overboard but this is just unacceptable.
I watched JJ Abrams’ Star Trek last week. The movie itself was fantastic but what I hate is that I was subjected to a 3-4 minute advertisement of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando prior to the movie. In the commercial, he talked about how good and effective the MMDA has been and that he should get a chance to do it for the whole country. In other words, he was telling you that he wants to run for President in 2010. If I’m not mistaken, running ads on movies, especially big hit ones like Star Trek, costs hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pesos (depending on the number of theaters). That money is coming from the government, which comes from us - the tax payers.
To MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, please stop using the money of the public to further your political ambitions.
I know that the COMELEC can’t do anything about it since they have no jurisdiction over you because you’re not a formal candidate yet, but please have the decency and the class not to stoop to this level. This is a clear abuse of public office.
I’ve always been a staunch critic of Bayani Fernando and the MMDA. However, I have to give credit to where it’s due. For almost 3 years now, I’ve been driving through C5 almost everyday when I go to my office in Makati. It always takes me around 1 hour to get to Pacific Star in Buendia. Things became even worse when the MMDA started construction of the Elevated U-Turn. The 1 hour suddenly became 1 hour and 30 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks to Mike Defensor, Jun Lozada may find himself as a Senator come the 2010 elections. They guy has faded from the limelight due to the barrage of controversies that followed after the NBN Scandal. However, Mike Defensor put him back in front of news papers and television shows with his filing of perjury charges. With Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino extending a helping hand to J-Lo, it’s probable that if ever he does run for Senate, he’ll be on the slate of the Liberal Party. Interesting don’t you think?
Saturday’s Wowowee held a very interesting surprise for all the regular viewers. Senator Mar Roxas and ABS CBN Journalist Korina Sanchez made a sudden appearance in one of the segments. The couple was interviewed on how they got engaged and what Mar did to propose. Video was recently uploaded on Youtube and I’d like to share it with everyone today.
MAR ROXAS & KORINA SANCHEZ AT WOWOWEE
Real love? Romance? Politics? Mix of all three. Congratulations to Senator Roxas and Korina!
You know what? When God wants to tell you something, you really can’t miss it. One of the issues that I’m dealing with right now is my health. However I’ve had reservations with running and jogging because I haven’t bought a good pair of shoes yet, don’t have a drinking bottle, and had no idea when to start. Yeah I know, sobrang kong maarte (LOL). Then God came into the picture, hahaha! Last weekend, I was invited by fellow blogger Noemi Dado to a blogger meet-up with Filipina Ultra Runner Joy Rojas (to be discussed on a separate post). Apparently, Joy has already ran through the entire Philippine archipelago. Her next goal is to run across the entire stretch of the United States. Anyway, after the meet and greet, her friend and coach, Matt, approached me and gave me a lot of tips on how to start running so I can get a little more healthy. I even won the raffle wherein I got a… water bottle. But wait… there’s more! Read the rest of this entry »
Various groups have been floating names of possible senatorial candidates in 2010. I’m getting really worried because a lot of the people who want to run in 2010 probably don’t have a clue as to what a Senator is supposed to do. Senators are legislators - they are not local government officials who focus on developing a barangay, city, or province. This means that they need to have ample knowledge of how to law works and what are the nuances around the subject matter. As legislators, they will be the ones who will craft policies that will govern various aspects of our lives in the coming years. Read the rest of this entry »
