I’m with Coco

Let's show our support for the red head!

I will always be a Conan O’ Brien fan! I am a member of Coco’s army!!

Chasing lavas

May sister, dad, and I went to Mayon just before January 1.  Here’s a photoblog of our tour. Pardon for the poor quality of some of the pics.

the burning fields

The Cagsagua ruins

Caggua Church

The 8 km danger zone

Happy 2010!!!

Celebrating and welcoming the second decade of this century!

Muelmar Magallanes, a hero who should not be forgotten

http://www.time.com

There were two heroes this year that deserved recognition. One was Efren Penaflorida, the pushcart educator. The other one did not become an instant celebrity.  He did not have the chance to become one anyway.

He was Muelmar Magallanes.  The hero whose name became a symbol for sacrifice during the height of typhoon Ondoy (international code name: Ketsana)

Who is Magallanes?

He was an 18 year old construction worker who gave up his life to save 30 people.  The poetry of his death was at the end. He died because of exhaustion after saving a baby.

Up to this day, I still cannot find the background of the life of Magallanes. He was poor but he had a golden heart. I do not know anyone who would take care of that much people up to a point where he would totally disregard his own safety.

The nation appreciated his sacrifice. The world also did.

TIME Magazine included Magallanes in their 2009 Top 10 of everything. (Click the link on the right side of my WordPress homepage)

Sadly however, there were two stupid people who cannot recognize the selflessness of Muelmar. I was disgusted with the comments of two bloggers. Click this link: http://heroworkshop.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/muelmar-magallanes-hero-in-waiting-called-into-action/

Check the two comments below by a Matt and Russ Kolski.

To the two of you: Magallanes was a hero. 30 people and this nation will be indebted to his family forever. Period.

Worse than the Abu Sayyaf

(WARNING: IMAGES ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART)

It was April 4,1995 when a group of Al-Qaeda linked terrorists raided Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur. I haven’t graduated from grade school then but I kept hearing about it especially when I visited Dipolog. Everyone was always pointing to the direction of Ipil.  I was just listening to the stories of my colleagues who were able to recall the event.

They said that the Abu Sayyaf indiscriminately killed ordinary civilians and burned down the town. Based on what I read in news articles, 53 people were killed by these terrorists who have not yet fully disbanded.

In the recent Ampatuan murders, 60 people were killed and harmed by armed men who took orders from what seems to be warlords who thought they could get away with genocide.

These murderers thought they could just create a killing field without being sought after. These killers actually thought their power and influence gave them a license to punish, maim, dismember, sexually abuse, and shoot innocent people.

They are worse than the Abu Sayyaf.

How debauched are these people? These pictures will tell the story.

I don’t know who published them but they have been spreading around blogging communities, forums, and social networking sites like Facebook.

I guess those who took the pictures wanted Filipinos around the world to see the true nature of these power-hungry animals.

I tried to edit these pictures as much as I can without compromising the idea of having a glimpse of the reality of the Ampatuan massacre.

Let us pray for their souls and may they find justice!

Proclamation 1959

Proclamation 1959: Proclaiming a State of Martial Law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao except for certain areas.

Whereas, Proclamation No. 1946 was issued on 24 November 2009 declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and the City of Cotabato for the purpose of preventing and suppressing lawless violence in the aforesaid areas.

Whereas, Sec. 18 Art. VII of the Constitution provides that “in case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it, the President may, for a period not exceeding 60 days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”

Whereas, Republic Act 6986 provides that “the crime of rebellion or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the government for the purpose of depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or
prerogatives.”

Whereas, heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops thereby depriving the Executive of its powers and prerogatives to enforce the laws of the land to maintain public order and safety.

Whereas, the condition of peace and order in the province of Maguindanao has deteriorated to the extent that local judicial system and other government mechanisms in the province are not functioning; thus, endangering public safety.

Whereas, the implementing operational guidelines of the GRP-MILF agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated 14 Nov. 1997 provides that the following is considered a prohibited hostile act: “establishment of checkpoints except those necessary for the GRP’s
enforcement and maintenance of peace and order and for the defense and security of the MILF in their identified areas as jointly determined by GRP and MILF.”

Now, therefore I, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and by law, do hereby proclaim as follows:

Sec. 1: There is hereby declared a state of martial law in the
province of Maguindanao except for the identified areas of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front as referred to in the implementing
operational guidelines of the GRP-MILF agreement on the General
Cessation of Hostilities.

Sec. 2: The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall likewise be
suspended in the aforesaid area for the duration of the state of
martial law.

Done in the City of Manila this 4th day of December in the Year of Our
Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/178582/full-text-arroyos-declaration-of-martial-law-in-maguindanao

Kristie Kenney, the “Filipino Ambassador”

I’m one of the fans of Efren Penaflorida. I think he’s the greatest Filipino in my time.   However, there’s something about the outgoing ambassador of the US that sort of identifies her as being Pinoy. I don’t know, I’m just sort of a fan of her too.

There was never an ambassador from the United States whom I cannot think of as being more Filipino than Amb. Kristie Kenney.   Upon checking in her official blogsite: (http://blogs.america.gov/kenney/author/kenneyka/)  , Kenney served as the top diplomat in the Philippines since 2006.

I remember I covered her first few days when she was appointed to the US Embassy in Manila by former President Bush and her former boss, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.   One of my beats was the Department of Foreign Affairs so it was just natural that I covered the embassy.

I dreaded covering US ambassadors and officials because their security was tighter than President Arroyos. The previous ambassador (I forgot who, I think it was Ricciardone) was snobbish and unapproachable.

Kenney was different.

The first time I covered her was one of the US Embassy’s trip Los Banos Laguna. I think she visited one of the projects there by her government. I expected the worst and I thought that interviewing her was going to be difficult.

I was surprised that after the event, we were able to interview her immediately. What came next was quite startling too. After getting her soundbites, there was a brief moment of interaction. It was not one of those pr mixers where there was a chance to interview the VIP in an informal setting.

She was just there so I took the opportunity to ask her about her background.  I remember asking her if she was a Republican. I didn’t think she answered it directly but she told me that she was a career public servant ever since.  Her diplomatic experience impressed me, although I forgot what countries she served in, just check out her blog.

Anyway, I asked her other personal questions which she answered always with a smile. After our conversation, I felt like I was talking to another Filipino. The thought just went by though.

Since then, I always manage to see the lady diplomat in every television event, every newspaper headline, magazine features, and even UAAP games.

I can’t believe she was a big Philippine college hoops fan. I do remember that she told me she liked basketball, but I always thought the NBA was more of her thing.  I see her in awarding ceremonies of the UAAP and it was remarkable.

Just this year, I saw her playing tennis and approached her and asked if I and my former fiancé could take a picture. She obliged and even joked that she didn’t look good after playing.  After our training session, we quickly went to Kenney and posed.

The qualities of a Filipino that I saw in Kenney was basically this: she was accommodating, she entertained people (even if I think we were already annoying), and she answered every question with a smile.

I dunno if other reporters had a different experience but that’s how I remember her. In a way, she became a figurehead in Philippine politics too.  She was warm but of course, a lot of people would still see her in a different way since she serves the US. The rallies outside the embassy would be evidence enough. Hehe

But that’s how I see her and it saddens me quite bit that she will be replaced by President Obama. I hope she goes back here though. I haven’t seen a diplomat that is genuinely or at least tries to be concerned about the country where he/she is assigned to as much as Kenney.

President Arroyo’s second impeachment complaint

Let us look back at how Congress junked the second impeachment complaint against the soon to be Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

I did this report when I was still a field reporter for RPN 9.  The alliances were different then. The reports are in Filipino and English.

PGMA hinted at running for Congress

Got this from Youtube

This is a report from a friend of mine, Ralph Guzman.  He did a report about how President Arroyo hinted at running for Congress in the past.

The modern day Hero

with Efren Penaflorida

Of course we all know who he is. He’s the man who had a vision and put that vision into action.  He believed in providing education for poor children through a pushcart.

I just want to share how fortunate I was to have a picture with CNN Hero of the Year for 2009 Efren Penaflorida. My first question, What did it feel like to kiss Eva Mendez on the cheeks? hehehe