Dinner with our Aussie friend

Tasting Vigan at the LCP organic market...

Lessons to learn

As a graduate of the Union High School of Manila (Batch 85), my heart is heavy with the revelation that some of its sports officials and student athletes have cheated, resulting in the one year suspension of the Philippine Christian University or PCU from the NCAA for the coming school year.

The NCAA Policy Board, chaired by this year's president Vincent Fabella of Jose Rizal University, found damning evidence that some PCU high school sports officials orchestrated elaborate schemes for some athletes to take on the identities of other students or people who were ineligible, otherwise to play for the NCAA High School edition. In effect, 4 Baby Dolphins, namely JP Importante, James and Cesar Degano and Victor Miguel Oliveros faked their school records to get into the lineup.

(According to newspaper accounts, the identity switch was not clearly explained; some sources were saying that the players apparently submitted the school records of either a brother or a cousin to meet the 18-year age limit for high school cagers.)

The suspension resulted in having all four players ordered banned from the NCAA. The Baby Dolphins were also asked to return their second-place trophy together with the individual awards and had to forfeit PCU’s third place overall trophy in the high school division. The university was allowed to keep its over-all championship for the seniors division though.

PCU President Oscar Suarez apparently did not contest the NCAA's decision, which was announced this Monday, April 23, 2007. Suarez, as quoted from broadcast news sources that day and print sources yesterday Tuesday said that “this is a lesson learned... Just because of some erring personnel and athletes our school was gravely affected.”

Suarez had also instructed Fred Olano, PCU’s representative to the management committee to fire the coaching staff of the junior squad headed by Bong Sales.

The suspension comes in the wake of the victory of two Lady Dolphin spikers who won a hard fought battle in a beach volleyball tournament just this weekend, a victory that was clearly overshadowed by Monday's announcement.

PCU alumni all over are just coming to terms with this shameful and painful event, much like a crash from the exhilirating highs that the school's sports program had taken through the years since its entry into the NCAA less than a decade ago.

PCU's erring officials and athletes clearly did not learn anything from the equally painful and shameful experience of DLSU last year as well as the other experiences in the national level.

What is sad though is that I know for a fact that Union High School students are taught Christian values and discipline that allows them to be persons for Jesus Christ, as befits the largest Protestant university in Metro Manila.

Back in my time, sports victories were few and far between; the high school (now renamed to be the Union Integrated Science High School) pursued and were more successful in academic and spiritual pursuits.

Sadly I don't get to hear them excel in academics these days even as they racked up sports victories one after the other. But look where it got itself now - a suspension for the whole university due to corruption at the high school level! It seems to me that corruption is being started early in my beloved alma mater. That really hurts and it makes me angry as hell...

I will definitely follow up on this sad story as soon as I get to talk to the right people.

2007 Earth Day Jam

At the Earth Day Jam

Just split up from my friends Ailyne, Leo and Francis. The Earth Day Jam still rages on a few paces away from where I am blogging now beside Baang Coffee. Such a huge crowd tonight especially at the stage at the junction of Ratsky's, Baang and Chili's.

Orange and Lemons was the band already playing so it was an easy decision to ditch listening to them in favor of making this entry, with apologies to Nancy my friend and PCU classmate who is the band's publicist. Had to ditch meeting up with her and her friend Candy too at Starbucks 6750; just didn't have the energy to take a cab and get all over to the other side of the metro to Makati at this time.

The Earth Day jam was a cool concept - more than 3 dozen bands playing all night to a closed T. Morato. I just didn't understand the band lineup though or the mix of musical genre's - one moment it was Noel Cabangon and Session Road, the next it was Paolo Santos and then Orange and Lemons. That band Paramata and 6Cycle sounded good though. Oh well, I guess that's diversity for you...

Too bad I was too shy in asking to have my photo's taken with the few singers that I admired though. I wanted to run after Noel Cabangon but held back... And right next to our table were Jett Pangan and Buddy Zabala... Oh well, next time???

If there were turn-offs in the whole event these were the environmental plugs shown in between the gigs and the inglesera hosts. The VTR plug's were packaged by foreign productions and used foreign hosts and concepts - The organizers could have made new ones and contextualized it in the local milieu. The hosts were simply too snobbish for comfort and didn't seem to connect to the crowd at all.

But the production aspect of the concert was very good - great sound and lights, very good set-up and efficient looking staff, engineers et al. Kudo's to the organizers whom I understand to be from rocker Lou Bonnevie's company. And boy did she sound so good still, after all this years! Lou should keep on rocking and teach those upstart wannabe rocker chicks how it is to really rock and roll. I had to resist the urge to go up to her and ask how her sister Angie was doing; she was my classmate and good friend in Union High School in Manila in the 80's and was also my schoolmate in UST.

In retrospect, the crowd was well behave and were mostly younger people; a whole slew of punk rockers showed up and camped on Manoling Morato's spacious parking spaces. I noticed that the tables and chairs of established outlets placed on the streets were not patronized though - probably due to their overpriced food and drinks? It was a good thing that some joints sold Pale Pilsen, San Mig Lights and my favorite Red Horse at an affordable range of between 20 to 30 pesos... As usual, over at the media area, reporters covering the event enjoyed free booze and food.

My first glimpse of the concert at about 8pm was at the stage beside Kopi Roti; I had dinner at Brothers Burgers where I enjoyed my grilled chicken burger and lemonade over a view to a kill of the stage. Cynthia Alexander and Bayang Barrios were kicking up a storm them and that was one priceless moment - good music, good food (I always love Bros. Burgers grilled chicken with its delicious cilantro sauce - it was simply a good healthy food that was value for money; the lemonade was so-so though and terribly overpriced). I left though when some bossa nova chick duo took control of the stage and did some lame music.

Too bad that my former producer Hannah was too tired to join me in tonight's activities; she used to be Bayang's first manager and I was just surprised she passed up on attending the Earth Day jam tonight. Also missed were Bombi and Jeng, who used to jam with Session Road and other bands making good music at the concert outside. I only saw Mike and his new lady love with their friends too (which I forget their names; all I remembered was that they used to work for my network too until they resigned to pursue their dreams of becoming indie filmmakers like Mike. Truly admirable people...).

I'll see them next time though. For now, I'm writing this entry for lack of something more creative to do. Later when I get home I'll finish the 2nd season of the compelling Prisonbreak series. This is my 2nd time to log in the Internet tonight. Earlier, I checked my emails at this Internet cafe's rival - Station 168 on top of Starbucks T. Morato where I was surprised to find a reply from Julia Campbell's sister (which I promptly informed my producer and co-editors'; we eventually got an exclusive phone patch interview with the family - more from this in my next post).

Meanwhile at the Earth Day Jam, The Dawn just wrapped up their set. Then the crowd just went wild and I just had to leave my station for a while to check out the next band. No wonder, it was the likeable Itchyworms belting out their fave Beer song... Too bad Cathy was not around with me to enjoy the concert...

My pictures from the jam will be uploaded tomorrow.

Off to Coron, Palawan

One weekend at the mall...

Let's do the Pasig...

Of calloused indifference...

Since becoming semi-active in this blog, I've vowed to stay apolitical, since for me there are more edifying pursuits, however simple, than politics.

But some things really gets one's goat, so to speak. The following story, for me, is the height of the indifference and haughtiness of the nation's top leader, who I believe is an anomaly primarily to her gender and to everything that she stands for. Does she even know how it is to be hungry, just as millions of Filipinos do?:

Arroyo:'I'm a hunger victim, too'

Article posted March 22, 2007 - 07:25 PM
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday said that if simply missing a meal would qualify a person as having experienced hunger, then she, too, is a victim of hunger.

In an interview after a roundtable discussion at Malacañang, Mrs Arroyo said the way the question was posed among respondents could have been a factor why the hunger incidence reached a record high of 19 percent.

"Kasi iyun naman ang question ng hunger (It?s because of the way they posed the question), do you miss one meal during the last three months? Pati naman ako (me, too), I?ve missed one meal in the last three months," she said.

The nationwide Social Weather Stations survey conducted from February 24 to 27 showed that the hunger figure remained at 19 percent though there had been a recorded worsening in Metro Manila from 17.7 percent in November 2006 to 20.7 percent in February 2007, and in Luzon from 17.7 percent in November to 18.3 percent in February.

The President, however, admitted that insufficient income could be one of the factors why some families have missed a meal. She said most of those who missed a meal belong to families of coconut farmers. "That's why we want to spend as much as possible the coco levy on increasing the income of the farmers," she said.

The President said there are also cases when one of the parents or a family member has vices, like drinking. She said they spend the money buying liquor instead of food.

Mrs Arroyo said this is why her administration will try to educate families by teaching students about the right ?spending habits" to ensure that the family income is spent on basic necessities like food.

She said teaching parents about responsible parenthood and family planning methods would help poor families save more money, which they can spend on food.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral said a family spends about P2,000 for infant formula every month, which can be used to buy food.

The President said aside from saving money, breastfeeding is also a good family planning method.

Mrs Arroyo and Cabral also traced the high incidence of hunger to the removal of the ?food for school" program in the supplemental budget sought by the administration in 2006.

Cabral said the DSWD food-for-school program, where each daycare school children gets a kilo of rice daily for 120 days, had been scrapped and replaced with milk feeding and hot meals. The same program is offered by the Department of Education for younger elementary pupils. - GMANews.TV

The Pirates are back!

I just saw the 2 minute plus trailer of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and man... I'm hooked! It's simply fantastic and I can't wait. Check this youtube entry. Better yet, here's the official site.

Intimations of Mortality redux

Without dwelling too much on the what should be and might be's, I hopped on a decrepit bus off to Baguio, right after attending a media conference in Holiday Inn @ Clark Pampanga. The bus left Dau around 930pm that Saturday night. Five hours later, I arrived in Baguio and I was simply the happiest person on earth.

The air was as fresh and as cold as I wanted it to be and the city was just as... well, sleepy and quiet as I expected it to be. I just didn't expect many people to still mill around Session Road at that hour, mostly the young ones.

Without any sense of urgency, I spent the next two hours in finding a suitable lodging. But being the height of the festival, naturally all the rooms were booked, even the sleazy ones in the City's nooks and crannies (don't ask me how I knew that). But nothing daunted me --- I was even prepared to sleep on Session Road, like the many I saw that dawn, never mind the cold.

A kindly taxi driver, among Baguio's truly gentle souls, helped me find some place to stay but in the end I contented myself in bunking on a 5-in-a-room dormitory at Baden Powell. Before managing to sleep around 430am, I made a mental note to wake up a few hours later to catch the Flower Festival parade...

Unfortunately, the flesh was weak (and tired from all the travelling) --- I woke up late at 1030am, hurriedly dressed, ate the Baden Powell's free but uninspired breakfast and hurried off to Session Road a few meters away to catch the parade.

I did manage to catch its last 30 minutes though, but the best parts were all gone already. Still, this did not stop me from sporting a crazy grin while walking around my favorite Session road, which just disappeared in a sea of people.

I managed to find a suitable transient room (with my own bathroom and cable tv at that) within walking distance to the city center. I savored the cold water of my first Baguio bath and soon after was off to hang out and pound away on my trusty laptop and finish my writing backlogs.

In Baguio, there are several places for me to stay while working on my stories, articles or simply just pouring out my mind --- the Figaro @ the Filling Station @ the Camp John Hay's entrance, the Starbucks at the Camp's Baguio Country Club end, the Figaro at SM Baguio's 4th level, @ the Tamawan Village, @ the Zola Cafe @ Session Road and my old time favorite, @ Cafe by the Ruins.

But hanging out in the places I mentioned do not come cheap though... But then again, no place is cheap anymore these days, especially in Baguio during Panagbenga.

Still I had a good time, was able to write a lot of stuff and caught up on my cable viewing too. I was extremely happy to catch Hotel Rwanda on HBO and watch the underrated but superb Don Cheadle.

So I just spent my time in Baguio doing simple things --- I wrote a lot, walked a lot, slept a lot and watched cable tv a lot. Surprisingly, I had a mild appetite --- I contented myself in eating street fare I would normally shun in Metro Manila, like my favorite one day old chick (3 pieces for 18 pesos, deep-fried with their bile taken out) at the Burnham Park area. I also attempted to check out the Mabuhay wag-wagan area but simply gave up after an hour --- I never did have the patience to do ukay-ukay shopping.

What I did not fail to do while in Baguio though was to have coffee at every imaginable cafe and surf the internet at ridiculously low rates --- part of the city's discount giving spree due to the festival.

I especially tried to cram a lot of mundane activities as the time for me to leave the city came near. Eventually, I reluctantly left at a very late 230am on Tuesday morning, with my class obligations to start 8 hours away, with a 6hour trip to make and two more to get to school.

Oh well, what's the use in living if you can't feel you're alive, right?

Intimations of Mortality

If you were given only one day more to live, what will you do?

Me? I would simply roam the streets of my favorite mountain city --- Baguio.

I did just that, as if it was my last day on Earth. And yes, I was alone at a time when the Panagbenga or Flower Festival was in full bloom. What better way to hide my isolation in a sea of people?

Retreat to Mountain City

Just when I thought my sanity would leave me, I went up to my favorite retreat place, the mountain city of Baguio. And what good timing it was as the Panagbenga or Flower Festival was in progress. I still had two days remaining for last year's VL so I cashed it in by going up after my two day media conference in Clark Pampanga.

The full story of my retreat and adventures on my next post. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of that memorable time.

Crunch time

It seems like I am always catching up on something whose deadline was like ages ago. And now I've run out of excuses not to do the things I've put off for so long. And so slowly but surely, I'm reclaiming my life by finishing important tasks, personal and professional. I only hope that it's not too late for me though. But in case I get penalized for defaulting on my deadlines, I guess it only serves me right...

Movin' on

Serving as inspiration lately for me is this simple song by who for me should have been last year's American Idol - the incomparable Elliot Yamin (watch out for his first CD soon to come out next month - this is the awesome first single, Movin' On).

Since the New Year kicked in, I've spent more time dealing with things that have weighed me down. Then there was the medical scare of my life - thank God it turned out to be only a warning. But I'm taking heed now of the warnings and prescriptions of Dr. O (my cardiologist from St. Luke's) and Dr. E (Letran College's resident physician).

There's nothing like a medical scare to make you sit up and take stock of what's important or not in one's life. But now I've made my choices. And I'm doing moves to achieve them.

I've given myself until the end of the month to get rid of all my 2006 backlog so that before the start of the end of the year's 3rd quarter, I'll be off and running to fulfill my hopes for the year.

"I don't want anything other than me..."

New Year

December went by in a blur. November too. Now its January. Yesterday was New Year. And now I feel so old.

Its really impossible to keep up with doing this blog. I have a renewed sense of purpose though for this year with this. Me and Chingbee are even planning to launch our Project Apollo on the web soon.

I look forward to the New Year. So many possibilities and exciting challenges ahead. The question is, how to deal with them in ways beneficial to one's interests and well-being...

Welcome 2007!!!