Philippines = Corruption

What on earth is exactly happening to our country? First of all, I salute Mr. Rodolfo Lozada for having enough guts to stand in front of the senate and testify everything that he knows about the ZTE Scandal, Kudos to you man! the whole Philippines is hungry for the truth....



Here's a very well presented facts and personal opinions of one of my favorite columnist Mr. Rey O. Arcilla of The Malaya Newspaper. I completely agree to this, looks like PGMA is eyeing on the same route as Thaksin Shinawatra's... (Ooooh, a little originality won't hurt maam') read on guys:
***
Ms. Arroyo said she had the ZTE deal "discreetly investigated" and found reports of bribery were "uncorroborated." (Imagine a contorted smiley at the end of this sentence.) Now that CHED chairman Romulo Neri stated under oath that Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos offered him a bribe of P200 million and that he (Neri) told her about it, shouldn’t that be enough corroboration? Or will she say Neri’s testimony must be corroborated as well? That would be tantamount to calling him a liar. He’s a member of her official family.

***
Didn’t Ms. Arroyo break the law when, after Neri had told her of the bribe offer to him of P200 million by Abalos, she still approved the ZTE deal? She even left her sick husband and went to Boao, China, to witness its signing. Come to think of it, what her trumpeters said then seems very apt. They boasted that she successfully bagged the multimillion-dollar Chinese contracts "like a thief in the night" or something to that effect.

***
Apparently, Ms. Arroyo believes that one of the best ways to defuse or kill a controversy is to create a commission, panel, committee or what-have-you ostensibly to investigate or prevent it from happening again. In the wake of the ZTE scandal, Ms. Arroyo created the Procurement Transparency Group (PTG) that would "ensure transparency and good governance in our massive public investments."
Not content with that, she also created a special panel to "oversee projects" under the China official development assistance program. She called it the Pro-Performance and Transparency Group under Trade secretary Peter Favila. There was no need to create those bodies. There are existing ones whose functions cover those she spelled out for both, namely, the Ombudsman and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC).

***
Sometimes I wonder, aside from being identified as an administration ally, if Senator Joker Arroyo is more than just a namesake of the squatter in Malacañang. First, he said the Senate was spending too much time on the ZTE scandal. I don’t think so. If it would mean sparing the taxpayers of having to pay a rotten deal $329 million in the next 20 years, the Senate can spend as much time as it needs to get to the bottom of the scandal.
Then he was reported to have "stopped" CHED chairman Neri from spilling the beans on Ms. Arroyo during the executive session held by the Senators immediately after the last hearing on the ZTE deal. If true, I say Senator Arroyo would do well to drop his pretenses and start lawyering for his namesake.

***
Except for what in my view were a couple of mis-steps, there is no doubt US Ambassador Kristie Kenney is a darn good diplomat. For one thing, her timing is impeccable. With the growing "closeness" of the Arroyo regime with rival China evidently in mind, Kenney wasted no time giving reassurance that the US remains bullish on the Philippines despite the raging controversy over the ZTE deal. Neat.

***
Not to the be outdone, however, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy said a couple of days later that despite the suspension of the projects ordered by Ms. Arroyo and the Supreme Court, economic and trade cooperation between the Philippines and China will not be affected. "In China, we believe that a friend in need is a friend indeed," he said.

***
Shinzo Abe resigned as Japanese prime minister when his popularity rating dipped because of several gaffes. Two of his agriculture ministers resigned for reasons of propriety. In Thailand, three cabinet members have resigned over some irregularity or difference of opinion with the ruling junta. The latest resignation involves the interior minister who acknowledged that his ministry bought $188,000 worth of canned fish from a company which he partly owned. Here? Forget it!

***
Hernando Perez, former justice secretary in Ms. Arroyo’s cabinet, must be a happy man these days.
Businessman and former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez has "unconditionally" withdrawn the extortion complaint he filed with the Ombudsman against Perez for allegedly demanding from him $2 million in 2001.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez had earlier said it was established that Perez took advantage of his position to demand the $2 million from Jimenez in exchange for excluding him as respondent in the plunder case filed against former President Joseph Estrada. For some reason, the case against Perez never reached the Sandiganbayan. Perez has maintained that the accusation against him was baseless. Somehow, I feel Jimenez must be happy too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got his money back and perhaps more. In fact, he was reported to have said "I am rich again" after announcing his decision to drop the case against Perez.

LSS....

I L.O.V.E this song!......

"Bleeding Love" was written by Jesse McCartney (yes him!)

It entered both the UK and Irish Singles Charts at number one. It stayed at the top of the UK chart for seven weeks and the Irish chart for eight. It has also been number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, Bulgaria, Germany and Austria. On 16 December 2007, "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year 2007 award.

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Closed off from love I didn’t need the pain
Once or twice was enough And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass Before you know it you’re frozen
But something happened For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground Found something true
And everyone’s looking round Thinking I’m going crazy

But I don’t care what they say I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal Is to keep me from falling
But nothing’s greater Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness I see your face
Yet everyone around me Thinks that I’m going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don’t care what they say I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I....

Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

And it’s draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I’ll be wearing these scars For everyone to see

I don’t care what they say I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I....

Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I....

Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I Keep bleeding Keep, keep bleeding love

And the Winner is......

Australian Open 2008 women's singles champion Maria Sharapova says her victory is just reward for all the hard work she has put in over recent months.

Sharapova struggled with injury for much of 2007 but finally managed to shake off most of her ailments in the latter part of the year and returned to some of the tennis that she's renowned for when she reached the final at the WTA Tour Championships.

And having avenged her defeat to Justine Henin in that final in Madrid when she won her quarter-final against the Belgian world No.1 earlier this week, Sharapova completed her third Grand Slam win with a 7-5 6-3 defeat of Serbian Ana Ivanovic.

"When you're going through tough moments, you never know
when you're going to have good moments. I'm just so
thankful that I got this one"
-Sharapova

Sharapova is obviously confident any time she enters a Grand Slam that she can go all the way, but two of her biggest goals for the rest of 2008 would surely be trying to complete a career slam and also success at the Beijing Olympics.

And if she can maintain the stellar form that took her to this breakthrough on Saturday, few would bet against the Russian being right in the hunt at the business end of many major tournaments for years to come.

notes from australianopen.com

Sharapova VS Ivanovic

- Saturday's final marks the fifth clash between Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova, but is their first meeting in a final.

- Amazingly, all four matches between the two to date have finished in two sets

- Head-to-head: Ivanovic 2 - 2 Sharapova

- Their only previous meeting in a Grand Slam was at last year's French Open semifinal, where Ivanovic prevailed in straight sets

- Ivanovic is aiming for her first Grand Slam title; Sharapova is chasing her third

- Ivanovic will edge ahead of Svetlana Kuznetsova in the world rankings regardless of Saturday's result and will become the world No.2 when she leaves Melbourne Park

- Sharapova will remain world No.5

- En route to the final Ivanovic has lost only one set, while Sharapova is yet to have lost one.

It's the clash of the hot babes!... who do you think will win?

Contemplating

Ooopsie!, I forgot my blogsite already (Do you like the new look?)..... Well How's lyf? After resigning from work I finally got the time to sit down, think and decide what I really wanna do with my life. I guess Im coping with that "Quarter Life Crisis" drama, I can say that I was really burned out from work I need to unwind a little, I need to stop and think. Anyway Ill be heading to Baguio City this coming Feb. 09 for the 2008 Panagbenga Festival, It's gonna be a blooming trip for me.. hehe. I'm excited! I love baguio! the people, the weather, the food, the city!

Me and my bestfriend decided to take extra courses for fashion merchandizing, we're gonna need a lot of knowledge for our soon to be made business (and I mean entrepreneurship) I still can't come up with a nice brand name though, if you have any suggestions please leave a comment....

2007 is a succesful year for PETA. PETA secured landmark victories for animals when Burger King, Hardee's, and Carl's Jr. agreed to increase their purchases of pig meat and eggs from suppliers that don't confine animals to cages and crates that are so small that the animals can't even turn around. Wendy's also agreed to increase its purchases of crate-free pig meat, and all four restaurant chains agreed to give purchasing preference or consideration to companies that switch to controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK)—the least cruel method of slaughtering chickens. With CAK, birds are killed quickly and painlessly—using nonpoisonous gasses—while they are still in their transport cages. These changes were a direct result of PETA's corporate negotiations and campaign pressure. They will, without question, improve the lives of tens of millions of individual chickens and pigs.

And yes...ME? still single.... If you have any suggestions you can leave a comment too... ^_^

LSS

I L.O.V.E this song....

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

I just want you close
Where you can stay forever
You can be sure
That it will only get better
You and me together
Through the days and nights
I dont worry cause
Everythings gonna be alright
People keep talking
They can say what they like
But all I know is everything's gonna be alright

No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
You you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

When the rain is pouring down
And my heart is hurting
You will always be around
This I know for certain

You and me together
Through the days and nights
I dont worry cause
Everythings gonna be alright
People keep talking
They can say what they like
But all I know is everything's gonna be alright

No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
You you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have
I know people will try
Try to divide
Something so real
So till the end of time
Im telling you that

No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one no one no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
Oh oh oh....

Quarter-Life Crisis

I don't feel like Im living my life. I feel like Im living a distraction. Spending my time and energy on earth, time which I believe is my only time, failing to recognize or possibly even avoiding my purpose, masking my emotions and denying my self. Im not certain that I even have a -purpose-, or eliminating the possibility that such a purpose would be an individualistic rather than universal thing. Nor do I feel that I am consistently able to identify what my true emotions and motivations are. I don't know about you, but the notion that I am unable to define who or why I am scares the shit out of me.
I am constantly nagged at by this feeling of waste. I feel there's a sense of urgency to my youth, to my whole life. I try to immerse myself in as many things as possible. I go out all the time, talk to everyone about everything (I talk all goddamn day), read and watch everything I can, I try to be like this, because Im terrified of missing out. Missing it. Often, I am left with a lot of experience and very little understanding of what it means. Maybe I need more time for reflection, but Im not very good at sitting still.

I dont understand people. I cant understand them. It seems to me that most everyone with any self-awareness at all should be doggedly concerned with the meaning of their life, and collectively, that of life in general. How can one not be? (Although from the blank looks on the faces I see on the street around here, it still doesn't surprise me.) Of course, not everyone has the luxury to sit around and philosophize. I sure don't. I don't mean to suggest that we should withdraw and everyone should sit around eating rice in orange robes until each and every person reaches enlightenment, but not to consider it at all ? Ignore the question ? Deny it's importance ? Write it off to philosophy ? Just for dreamers ? I just try to somehow incorporate these questions into my life, whatever my schedule may be.

Young people, at least a lot of the ones I know, are becoming their jobs. Being defined by their job titles. We are raised to do just that, it seems. Go to school, get a good job, have a family, retire and die.
And Im not saying that sounds so bad to me. Along the way, we become distracted with mortgages, car payments and bills. We try to lose ourselves in drugs and alcohol, searching for a respite, but from what ?
We try to build self-esteem and release aggression in physical activities. And it seems that people are content. -I dont know the meaning of my life. I have no idea why I am alive, but I have a great job. I make a lot of money. I make a comfortable living.- Or -I love my family.- Or -I have a un-hittable fastball.- So what. Isn't there more out there ?

Religion? Whew. Tough stuff. It seems there are so many different ideas out there about creation and the meaning of life. I was born a Catholic, went to religious schooling, made my Penance, was an altar boy and was Confirmed. I went on church every Sunday until I was about 14 or 15. Now, I hardly go, even on the holidays. It occurs to me more and more that I was a Catholic simply and only because I was born into it. It was indoctrinated in me since I was a child. If I was born into another family, in another part of the world Id most likely be of another faith. So, is religious belief luck-of-the-sperm ? Fate ? Religion does a lot of good in the world, I know. It provides a moral guideline for living. Charity and mercy and love. Fantastic stuff. But what is the end result, qualifying for Heaven, an eternal life of happiness. -I know the rules and I try real hard not to break them. This way I can die, and then Ill be happy.- Your whole life is a qualifying heat ?

Government ? -These are the laws you must obey and this is how we are going to arrange things, these are the services we will provide you with, these are your rights and this is what you owe us for this.- Well, Mr. President, I+m very excited about your position on the environment, but could you please tell me why the fuck I am alive ? Do you have a position on that? Are you a philosopher-king? You govern, you try to keep things going and keep people from killing each other and from starving, you perpetuate this forum within which I live, but to what end? And growing up in this world, this country anyway, it gets really hard to look beyond those parameters. We grow up trying to fit in and be comfortable.

The physical necessities are food, clothing and shelter (and sex). A roof over your head and a chicken in every pot. Then there are the emotional necessities. Being in love. Family. Friends. Feeling cared for and caring for someone. Being moral and compassionate (and sex). These things are all wonderful, but what about knowing why you are alive in the first place ? Do people really believe a fat paycheck is the answer ? Or that helping others, a life of charity, is the meaning of their life? Then what is the purpose of the person who provides you with a paycheck, the meaning of the lives of those you help, or the value of a system that puts people in the position of needing a paycheck or requiring help ?

Family provides meaning. Paycheck provides meaning (very little meaning, in my case). Charity provides meaning. But I can't help thinking that the true meaning of life surpasses these things. I realize it sounds a bit ridiculous that I am sitting around writing about a question I obviously can't answer, but it bugs me. There must be more to life than this. And there are so many distractions. Bars and cars and movies and guns and trips and sports (and sex).

The meaning of existence, as it seems to me, gets distorted from whatever it may be and evolves into a struggle for survival, and beyond that comfort. Fuck comfort. How can you find any peace of mind without meaning? (This would be a good time to tell me, if you know.)

Well, is that what we are here for, to get through it, comfortably if possible ? To adjust ourselves, our words, our thoughts, ideas, actions and ultimately our souls into something that fits. Do we simply learn to manipulate this way of being, of interacting and socializing in such a way as to put us up the ladder as high as possible, some being better at it than others?

What if it's all wrong and we are really blowing it?

Sweet talker

It's an amazing feeling to meet a person who shares the same interest that you have.... I felt this connection that I only feel with rare people hehe....

This is one of the picture that was sent to me by a person who errr... loves me I guess! hehe...

I love you too!.... (LOL)

Son of a Beach

It's the first ever team building of my team ("Monster Madness" that is) at Crystal Beach Resort San Narciso, Zambales.

I feel like I was harassed by the waves of the south china sea....this beach is not recommended for dog swimmers like me.... I call the resort "The Son of a Beach Resort" after getting a tremendous body pain and several scrapes on my legs trust me you don't wanna go back there!...hehe.

The only thing that made the trip unforgettable was the moment that i was able to share with my whole team....this is a one time experience coz we never know when can this happen again.... We became attached with each other more.

Special mention to: Caren, Godfrey, Nikko and Muriel.... I had a great time hangin out with you guys!.....

Here's some photos!:

Halloween Drama

Ive been sooo lazy these past few days... I almost forgot that I have
a blog site that I need to update....

Halloween!....

how's my life goin? pretty smooth I guess..... ( i mean not quiet, hehe) Unfortunately, I was'nt able to visit my mum on the cemetery due to some uncertain circumstances.... I moved out of my apartment (emergency) and went back at my tita's place in Taytay... Its quiet a hassle to travel to work from taytay everyday but I'm working on it.....

Politics!....

I hate Erap..... well this is just my opinion (plz. dn't get mad at me) Why? last month
he was sooo expressive on how he disapprove with the current administration
and now he's claiming how happy he was when president GMA gave her a pardon,
whatever ERAP....

Here's some of my pictures form the Halloween getup day on our office.... peace out!