"And have you noticed how people speak louder than usual when using a cell phone, even when there’s no problem in the connection? What’s up with that? It’s annoying, especially when you’re in a public place like a restaurant, or riding the rail, or even the theater, and the cell-phone user starts yapping away and you are forced to listen to the one-sided conversation."(Click Something Like Life for the rest.)
SINCE this issue has already been beaten to death, no thanks to Lorelei Fajardo and Sen. Loren Legarda in today's Philippine Stary, this will be my last say on it:
1. There's nothing wrong with getting a boob job. If the presidentita had a boob job, I don't care. It doesn't make a difference in my life but hopefully, it made a difference in hers. (wink!) Besides if she had this done in 1985-'86, it was before she joined the government, so no taxpayers funds spent there.
2. The public has every right to know about the medical condition of the President. So if the implants were leaking, it put her life at risk. So no, Lorelei and Loren (isa ka pang ja-fake!), this is not a private matter just because the presidentita is a woman and cannot be cloaked under the term "sensitive details."
3. If there was nothing to hide about the presidentita's condition, why did Malacañang's spokespersons trip all over themselves, even denying that she had a breast augmentation done in the past?
4. As long as the recent breast implant replacement and other gynecological procedures were not done on taxpayers' expense, then we're square with it, right? But as journalists, we have a right to ask these things on behalf of the public, who again, have the right to know about the health condition of the presidentita.
Now, here's something from Newsbreak about the boob job: Click here
"* Damage during implantation or during other surgical procedures
* Folding or wrinkling of the implant shell
* Trauma or other excessive force to the chest
* Compression of the breast during mammography. (Click here to know more about breast implants.)
Omigawd! This is precious! (Actual screen capture from MB's site.)
GMA medical checkup OK
By JONATHAN M. HICAP, CHARISSA M. LUCI
Manila Bulletin, July 2, 2009, 6:03pm
President Arroyo underwent removal and replacement of breast silicone implants at a hospital in Muntinlupa City, a source told the Manila Bulletin.
Meanwhile, a Palace official announced that President Arroyo has ended her two-day self imposed quarantine “with a clean bill of health,” and is expected to resume public engagements “in a few days.”
The informant, who requested anonymity since the source was not authorized to speak about the matter, said the President was scheduled to undergo augmentation mammoplasty at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa. (Click here for the rest.)
1. DA who is this senatoriable who eagerly accepted P2 million just to switch parties? Oh, that, plus all expenses to be paid by his new presidentiable bet said to be teeming w/ cash, courtesy of his ah, relative. Detractors of the senatoriable of course chide him for being "cheap" for accepting the P2M check, which is seen as a rather minimal amount. E kung kelangan ng tao noh?!
2. Da word is this sleepy vice presidentiable is now eagerly negotiating with the dark horse presidentiable bec. the former's backer in his party has now supposedly chosen to support a relative in the presidential race. Earlier the backer was said to be against his relative bec. of the rather offensive behavior of the relative's spouse. Well, blood is thicker than water, ika nga.
3. The real story behind the reported pullout by T.I.M. from its consortium w/ Smartmatic, the shady company awarded the contract to automate the 2010 polls, is that despite Smartmatic's 40-percent stake in the project, its executives wanted total control of management and the finances, including the signing of checks. Of course, considering that the background of Smartmatic isn't really credible, T.I.M. officials thought they could be liable for any issues and problems that arise from the project, especially if the gang from Barbados just disappears.
Of course, my own conspiracy theory is that this is all is in an elaborate setup to allow Smartmatic to implement its project in joint venture with the Comelec. There's a lot of moolah to be had in that project and someone is going to get mightily rich from allowing it to continue under that kind of partnership agreement. And no, I'm not talking about the gentleman from Malacañang. The person who will benefit from the Comelec-Smartmatic partnership has had questionable and profitable dealings in the past as well. Da who? Guess mo.
4. More on the poll automation project: one of the bidders disqualified from the bidding by Comelec, was said to have not complied w/ the terms of reference of the bid. But da word is, the company took a look at the list of equipment the Comelec wanted and ticked off a few off the list the company felt was not needed in the first place. Entonces, the company was going to save Comelec/we taxpayers a lot more money if the poll body just entertained the company's bid.
5. Da who is this well-known PR guy who has been hired by the embattled Doktora to handle the crisis PR needs of her erstwhile boytoy, who last we heard, now wants to study to be a lawyer? Truly love knows no bounds for the Doktora considering that the PR guy, famous for publishing a book on his former client, has an acceptance fee of not less than P1 million. Acceptance fee palang yan ha?
With the tri-media effort the PR guy is implementing to help portray Doktora's boytoy as a poor confused fella who was abused as a child, the tag price for the campaign has been estimated at no less than P5 million by other PR men in the industry. Ang saya naman!
IT'S incredibly sad that so many celebrities and musical artists have been passing away in the last few weeks.
I never knew Susan Fernandez personally, but have been one of her silent admirers. She has been dubbed the "voice of protest" back in the day, but I was never part of that circle given my youth. I discovered her rather belatedly when I started hanging out in folk bars. And I have been a fan ever since. The last time I watched her perform was at Bro's Mustache along Sct. Madriñan about 2 yrs. ago.
She passed away this afternoon after a mightly battle with ovarian cancer. Her fans will miss her, but her voice, so angelic and glorious, will surely be a welcome addition to God's heavenly choir above. The video below is rather dizzying, so I suggest you just close your eyes and listen to her sing, Awit ni Canuplin, which is one of my favorite tunes of Susan.
This one moved me to tears, Sangandaan (repost from Chickoy Pura)
Click here.
(CAAP Director-General Ruben Ciron is the man who holds your life in his hands whenever you fly in the Philippines. Photo from CAAP web site.)
WRITTEN on the web site of the newly-formed Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), is its mission, foremost of which is "to provide safe and reliable air transport system and regulatory services, as well as promote the economic viability, develop and regulate the technical. operational, safety and security functions of civil aviation."
But the agency, headed by retired General Ruben F. Ciron, is turning out a bit as inutile as its predecessor, the Air Transportation Office (not the Civil Aeronautics Board as I earlier mentioned). In reaction to the most recent accident of Zest Airways where its Chinese-made MA-60 plane overshot the runway at the Caticlan Airport, instead of grounding the carrier and these planes, it decides to penalize other more professional and efficient airlines instead, by banning two-way traffic at the airport. Click here for the story.
Here's a video at the accident site on June 25, 2009:
Like many government regulations, this is another limp-wristed reaction to a severe problem that has been plaguing Philippine aviation industry – the lack of real a credible regulatory body that would actually protect the traveling public from careless carriers like Zest Air. CAAP should address the issue of Zest Air's use of these Chinese-made planes w/c I repeat, has not even been certified as airworthy by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority. Sure the carrier's not going to fly to the U.S., but isn't the Philippine government supposed to promote the use of international regulations and airworthy standards in the country? After all, even our airports' safety is rated by the FAA.
So what is CAAP waiting for them to actually address this Zest Air problem? That another crash happens and passengers die? (Knock on wood!)
This is a video of another MA-60 of Zest Air which undershot the Caticlan runway in Jan. 2009:
Btw in a web site of worldwide aircraft disasters, there is only one crash on record of the MA-60, and that distinction belongs to Zest Air. (It hasn't been updated yet for the last Thursday's crash.) So obviously, that plane wasn't made for the short and rough Caticlan runway. Indeed, there are some extremely brilliant people on Zest Air's staff who don't know sh** about planes and Philippine runways. I know who they are but let's see if Gen. Giron can guess da who.
"But like many in my generation who were born in the age of longhand and who wrote letters, used postage stamps, and mailed their letters (now called snail mail) in their youth, we have noticed how e-mail messaging has virtually reduced official business communication to informality." (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)
LOS ANGELES — For his legions of fans, he was the Peter Pan of pop music: the little boy who refused to grow up. But on the verge of another attempted comeback, he is suddenly gone, this time for good.
Michael Jackson, whose quintessentially American tale of celebrity and excess took him from musical boy wonder to global pop superstar to sad figure haunted by lawsuits, papparazzi and failed plastic surgery, was pronounced dead on Thursday afternoon at U.C.L.A. Medical Center after arriving in a coma, a city official said. Mr. Jackson was 50, having spent nearly 40 of those years in the public eye he loved.
The singer was rushed to the hospital, a six-minute drive from the rented Bel-Air home in which he was living, shortly after noon by paramedics for the Los Angeles Fire Department. A hospital spokesman would not confirm reports of cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm. (Click NYT for the rest.)
Michael Jackson Live in Manila, HIStory tour, 1996
Farrah Fawcett, sex symbol and actress, dies (UPDATED)
(CNN) -- Farrah Fawcett, the blonde-maned actress whose best-selling poster and "Charlie's Angels" stardom made her one of the most famous faces in the world, died Thursday. She was 62.
Fawcett's death was confirmed by Paul Bloch, one of her representatives at Rogers and Cowan, an entertainment public relations firm.
Fawcett, who checked into a hospital in early April, had been battling anal cancer on and off for three years.
Bloch told CNN that Ryan O'Neal, Fawcett's romantic partner since the mid-1980s, and her friend Alana Stewart were with Fawcett at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, when she died. (Click here for the rest.)
The story from the New York Times here.
Career highlights of Farrah Fawcett here.
AT about 10:30 a.m. today, I received a text message from a media colleague telling me that another MA-60 plane of Zest Airways overshot the runway at the Caticlan Airport, the gateway to Boracay. Mercifully, no one was hurt. Strangely enough, none of the online media sites carried the news. Strange ano? Or tanga ba to even wonder there's no news about it?
(Zest Air owner Fred Yao)
Another strange thing, despite this being the second landing accident of Zest Air in less than 6 months, the gov't-run Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which replaced the inutile Air Transportation Office, hasn't grounded the airline. The CAAP pala is even more inutile than CAB. Or maybe it's because they're afraid of Zest Air's owner Fred Yao of the Zest-O fame, who is reputedly very close to the presidentita? Hmmm. (Click here for photos of the first crash in Jan. 2009, and the story in Manila Standard.)
CAB didn't even bother to lift a finger to investigate the airline, still called Asian Spirit then, flying w/o insurance last year, the now infamous Ipis incident, and didn't ground Zest Air despite the first incident of undershooting the runway resulting in injuries. 
Now, this is an appeal to the riding public: Just bec. an airline offers cheap flights, it doesn't mean you should jump at the chance. Check out the background and track record of the airline first before making that final booking and reservation. Don't take chances w/ your life and with the lives of your loved ones. It pays to google. In cyberspace, there are a number of bloggers who've written about their travails of riding in this or that airline. It pays to be well-informed. And yes, the life you save may be your own.
NO, I'm not talking of that expletive famously uttered by Sen. MAR Roxas in a rally, but Philippine islands, the newest line from the Cebu-based Islands Souvenirs of the ever-busy Jay Aldeguer. Colonial Americanos called the Philippines "P.I." during their time and some of Pinoys abroad strangely still call the Philippines the same. I always try to disabuse them from using the term because of course, its current connotation is completely different. 
TRUST the Japanese to come up with some stylish, fashionable surgical masks to protect you from the flu viruses. I want to get my hands on one of these.
So far my favorites are the geisha mask,
(President Obama is kinda creepy here, anu?)
And here's Stephen Colbert and Jeff Goldblum's take on the "crime"
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Murder in the White House - Jeff Goldblum | ||||
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I WENT to the new SM Annex at North Edsa, QC last week bec. I needed to buy a USB modem. On the fifth floor of the newly-designed annex (which is huge! btw), is the Cyberzone, featuring whole slew of computer stores and camera/TV shops, and stalls of the latest electronic gadgets, laptop sleeves and bags, accessories and all sorts of gee-gaws to please all you nerds out there. Well, instead of buying an inexpensive USB modem for my Macbook (the one by Apple costs P3,400...ulk!), I came home w/ a new digicam instead. That's what I get for spending too much time at Cyberzone! Hay naku! (The story about that in a future entry.)
(Cute posters of little kids wearing their yogurt dessert on their heads.)
GMA: We're not out to scrap elections
TOKYO – President Arroyo broke her silence yesterday amid speculations that she is bent on prolonging her stay in power through the Charter change efforts of her allies in the House of Representatives.
Mrs. Arroyo said she was not moving “to scrap the elections” next year but stressed she believed the Constitution needs to be amended for political and economic reforms.
“We are not out to scrap the elections,” Mrs. Arroyo told reporters here when asked to comment on last week’s anti-Charter change rally in Makati City. (Click here for the rest.)
Sure, I admit that I was among those who were cynical about their relationship in the beginning. Those of us in the sidelines watching his career in government and were aware of the chismis surrounding Roxas’s and Sanchez’s respective love lives before they encountered each other, didn’t give the coupling a high batting average, so to speak. (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)
(Sen. Mar Roxas serenades fiancée Korina Sanchez with the song “Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal” in a traditional Filipino pamanhikan to the Sanchez family in Merville, Parañaque, with entertainers Tado, lef, and Jason Gainza. Roxas formally asked for permission from the Sanchez family to marry Korina on June 14, 2009. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEN. MAR ROXAS’S OFFICE)
(The couple's respective families pose for a souvenir shot. From left, seated, Roxas' aunts Stella Marquez-Araneta and Baby Araneta Fores, mom Judy Araneta Roxas, aunt Ruby Roxas, Sanchez' aunt Leticia Baluyut, and civic leader, possible ninang Rosa Rosal; Standing, from left: Roxas' uncle Vicente Roxas, Sen. Roxas, Sanchez, Roxas' uncle Jorge Araneta, and Sanchez' uncle Eduardo Baluyut.)
IN honor of Steve Rogers' – Captain America's alter ego's - resurrection, here's something you children of the 60s and 70s might wanna see again.
Captain America was created in 1941, as the United States was going to battle with the evil Axis powers. This was reflected in the goons the superhero had to fight. Now that he's "reborn", as the new Marvel comic series is dubbed, I wonder if he intends to lead the hunt for Osama.
SPENT most of the day reading and picked up some entertaining bits. Enjoy!
On CNN something nice about the Philippines for once:
"Taxis are the best way to negotiate the city, and they're cheap and plentiful, but it's worth jumping into the back of a crazily colorful jeepney at least once, just for the experience." (Click here for the rest.)
"The 52-year-old senator, dressed in a striped light-blue, buttoned-down shirt over black trousers, sang an old Tagalog love song to Korina. Comedians Tado and Jason Gainza accompanied Mar on the guitar.
"The 44-year-old Korina, in a light-bronze sleeveless dress, joined in the singing. ‘To keep Mar on-key,' explained a family friend who attended. Epy repeatedly reminded the audience, ‘He’s a senator [not a singer].’ " (Click here. Photo from Mar and Korina's blog.)
Other than New Zealand, China also grows kiwi fruits in Asia and are called gooseberry. But Mathieson said even China represents a huge growing market for Zespri because “the Chinese found that the taste [of the New Zealand varieties] more superior.” (Click NZ biz group pushes kiwi in RP for the rest.)
It takes a lot of work to keep a marriage interesting, especially in this fast-paced world with too many “distractions.” I’ve listened to many husbands and wives tell me how they sometimes feel just brotherly or sisterly toward their spouses. After several years of marriage, with the kids and all the responsibilities to the family, spouses sometimes just lose touch with each other. Everything becomes so familiar and so boring. (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)
TIME for more Chaka-khan kiddies! I recently picked up a few juicy bits about some very political people while rallying against Cha-Cha at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Ave. Not an unlikely place for gossip and rumor-mongering it seems. No names of course; we have to protect the subjects' horrors, este, honors. 
(Photo from Newsweek)
ITEM #1: Da who is this muy guapo political persona who recently junked his membership from a certain political party to support a rival party's presidential candidate said to be dripping w/ cash courtesy of a rich relative by ahem, marriage? Supporters of El Traidor's old party were apparently fooled by his angelic charms but now drub him "mukang pera". Wag naman! But then, that could explain his recent controversial choices in clients. Of course, if he runs for senator as what my other sources intimate, he does need all the financial backing he can get. There's nothing wrong w/ being practical right?
ITEM #2: Da who is this presidentiable who may soon be following Senõr Soldado's footsteps and will announce by Oct. that he will no longer run for president in the 2010 elections? Instead, Señor Los Ojos will run for VP. He must be realizing by now that his main backer Don Reloj del Docena will not risk spending millions of pesos on his presidential candidacy if there is no certainty of him winning nationwide. In fact recent surveys show that while Los Ojos figures prominently among the presidentiables, he has a stronger showing as a VP candidate.
So it seems Don Reloj would rather see Los Ojos be a VP to another presidentiable, Señor Banquero, who is the Don's friend as well, and who may have better chances of winning. Perhaps, too, Don Reloj trusts Señor Banquero bec. the latter has more political savvy and a wider experience in the business of running a gov't. Besides, if the Don supports Señor Banquero's presidential candidacy, he would only have to spend P50M at the most, the latter not exactly in penurious circumstances like Los Ojos. It's all business for Don Reloj, even in politics.
(Photo from this web site.)
LASTLY, ITEM #3: Da who are these two ranking officials of the Philippine government recently caught displaying their affection towards each other in Paris, the city of lights, and love? They were said to be very intimate towards each other in public places like it was nobody's business! Although they were in Paris on official business, attending meetings and such, sources said, they timed their attendance so they could be together during this wonderful time of the year, spring! Je t'aime, mwah! mwah!
El Jefe is a vital member of the presidentita's official family and is always in the news, while Señora Assumptionista, currently holds a position as a special envoy. What's interesting about these two lovers is that they are not married to each other, but to other people. Oooh-lala! How very French!
THIS video has been making the rounds of Facebook. It's hilarious! No one knows who this guy is. I wonder if he's a traffic cop from Korea (some say Thailand) and this is how they direct traffic there. Katawa.
Gonzalez: 'I think Arroyo will run again'
MANILA - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will run again in May 2010 if efforts to change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary through a constituent assembly succeed, according to newly appointed Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez.
In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, the former justice secretary said he believes that Arroyo will run for a parliamentary seat in Pampanga so she could be elected as Prime Minister in 2010 in case the current efforts to change the charter through a Senate-less constituent assembly materialize.
"I will not be surprised if the President will run as Member of Parliament," Gonzalez said. (Click ABS-CBN News.)
I attended the rally versus HR 1109/Con-Ass and Charter Change (Cha-Cha) yesterday, in Makati City. Here are some images from the protest action. Anyone who says the rally didn't gather enough participants should get some spectacles.
Below is the complete list of Congressmen who voted for House Resolution 1109 convening Congress into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass). If you do not agree with their decision, write/email your representative and tell him/her so. Let your voice be heard!
Click this to find out your legislator's email/snail mail address. You can actually email them from their respective pages.
Thank you.
Con Ass Congressmen
Join the 1st Facebook Eyeball vs CHA-CHA, hosted by the Blas F. Ople Policy Center on Sat., June 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Powertips, 5th Floor Podium Mall, Ortigas, Pasig.
Be informed. Discuss. Protest. For inquiries and reservations, pls. call 0918-8040-055, or email: oplecarlo@gmail.com. Not for Facebook users only.
ONE of the things I do after I take my lunch is to have coffee while watching ANC News. At about 2 or 2:30 p.m., broadcaster Tony Velasquez presents the news, and interviews guests in his usual witty manner. Why the Lopezes haven't thought of giving him a talk show w/ a David Letterman-like format (sans the comedy routine) is unfortunate bec. I think Velasquez is just hilarious when he interviews politicians and makes his side comments.
Anyhoo, this afternoon, I was shocked to watch Velasquez's show bec. he had as his guest, former actor Isko Moreno who I didn't know is already Manila's Vice Mayor! OMG! Who would've thought that the two-bit artista w/ the wild bushy eyebrows would reach this political height? Sure he was a councilor before, but Vice Mayor? And by the way he sounded this afternoon, he is surely gunning for the mayoralty position after Mayor Alfredo Lim finishes his terms of office (a mayor can be elected for three consecutive terms if I'm not mistaken). 
PLS. go to this web site, NO TO CON-ASS, click on and display those badges (like you see on the right sidebar of this blog) on your web sites and blogs. Show your opposition to House Resolution 1109 convening Congress into a Constituent Assembly!
The full text of HR 1109 can be found here.
IN case you still haven't heard La sallistas, you have no classes from June 4 to 13. According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque, an exchange student was found infected with the Influenza A/H1N1 virus and may have had contact with at least 120 other people. (Click here.)
Keep safe everyone. Wash your hands properly. And stay away from other people if you already have the virus. Go into quarantine.
(UPDATE 1:40 a.m.) I've heard that a case of Influenza A infection has also been discovered at the Manila headquarters of the Asian Development Bank. Stay tuned for more details.
(UPDATE 06/04/09 at 5:47 p.m.) Influenza A case at ADB confirmed
YOU should be watching right now on ANC how pro-Cha-Cha congressmen are trying to railroad the approval of House Resolution 1109 which will convene Congress into a Constituent Assembly. This will allow them to push for changes in the 1987 Constitution to keep the presidentita in power.
History repeating itself! GMA doing a Marcos! Kawawang Pilipinas.
WELL, it is the first of June and almost half of the year is over. You betcha Christmas will sneak up on us faster than you can sing 'Grandmagotrunoverbyareindeer!'
More importantly though, it's amazing that most of us are still on our feet. We still have our jobs, the love of family and friends, have a roof over our heads and can still eat three basic meals a day. Many of us are still relatively healthy, dear readers. Forget all the petty annoyances and insignificant idiots who sometimes make life hell for us. Let's just be grateful for being able to wake up each morning and getting up on our feet. And getting on w/ our lives. Woo-hoo!
(Another reason to rejoice: It's the first day of the new schoolyear so the kids in the village are outta here! Yay! It's so quiet I could cry, haha!)
(FVR and GMA Photo from Supreme Master Ching.)THIS was Cat Stevens.
He was very big in the 1960s until he converted to Islam in 1977, dropping out of sight at the height of his fame. I grew up listening to his music because of my older siblings. He then changed his name to Yusuf Islam.
With a new album launched, he appears on The Colbert Nation, where host Stephen Colbert, conducts a hilarious yet insightful interview of Yusuf. He talks about leaving the entertainment industry, converting to Islam, and says the first word a Muslim learns is "Salaam" or peace.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Yusuf | ||||
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| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Yusuf - Roadsinger | ||||
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“You can’t possibly trust him. He’s perverted.”
I WROTE this piece three days before the Senate hearing on the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex video scandal. (Maaga ang deadline ba?) It's a further exposition on my thoughts on the issue. Click Something Like Life if you still can't get enough of it.
(Correction: As per my friends, in the sex video, Halili entered the bedroom still clothed, not naked as I had written in my column. Thanks for the correction guys.)
JUST for everyone's perusal, here's the order from the Department of Finance suspending the tax on books. It's by no means permanent, as the DOF is still finalizing the guidelines on book importation. But for the moment, I think everyone can rest easy and go buy their books at their usual prices. (Of course, if the peso devaluates, it will raise the prices of our books, which is another matter completely.)
Here's a shout out to the bloggers and journalists who made a ruckus about the issue, and especially to my former boss and a book lover himself, Makati Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, who bent the ear of the presidentita on this one.
Shouldn't we applaud GMA as well? Hmmm...let's see the final guidelines first.
DOF Order 27-09 Suspending Book Tax
1. RP has now 10 H1N1 cases
Scary. Wash your hands well!
2. RP economy ‘teetering toward recession’
But I think we'll be okay this year. Spoke w/ some businessmen recently; the second quarter results look promising. You know what the Chinese say: "Crisis means opportunity."
3. BSP cuts interest rates
Well, if you think the interest rates on your savings accounts were too low, this move will cut them further. Even if you go to higher-yielding deposit instruments like SDA's or 5-yr tax-free special savings accounts, your interest rates will be eaten up by inflation.
4. Navy whistleblower Gadian surfaces at CA hearing
I hope Gadian's safety is well-secured. You know what happened to the other whistleblowers in the military.
5. Arroyo: There will be elections in 2010
Of course, we don't believe her. And looks like there's trouble in paradise as the Kampi head Luis Villafuerte was absent at the merger announcement this morning. He has resigned from the party in protest of the merger. Even former Phil. president Fidel V. Ramos, chairman emeritus of the Lakas-CMD party, was nowhere to be found. (Sick daw.)
According to broadcaster Ricky Carandang, the new merged party's name is PaLaKa. Hahahaha!
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
GMA News is obviously so delighted w/ this footage. Notice how they're looping it over and over again.
The ex-cop who poured the water on Dr. Hayden Kho's head has been identified as one Abner Afuang. He holds a press pass w/c is why he was able to get into the Senate hearing. I'm sure, issued by the Senate press office. Ngek.
I noticed though that Sen. Jamboy Madrigal seems to be pretty partial towards Dra. Vicki Belo, who as it turns out, did instruct Eric Chua and Bistek del Rosario, to get the contents of the hard drive of Kho. She was the one who gave the key to Kho's flat. Hmmm...as I suspected, Marquise de Merteuil at your service!
And gads, this Sen. Bong Revilla has no business sitting in Senate hearings when he doesn't even know what kind of questions to ask! "So Katrina, ano'ng nararamdaman mo ngayon?" "So Dr. Kho, ano'ng nararamdaman mo ngayon?" Or how about: "Dr. Hayden Kho -- nothing personal -- kayo pa rin ba ni Vicki Belo?" Duh. Doesn't his staff even bother to give him cue cards?
Of course, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was not too far behind: "Dr. Kho, doktor po ba kayo?" Or, "ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng jologs?" Leche.
This Katrina Halili is also such an artista. She cries crocodile tears. The hearing was turned into a badly-scripted telenovela. "Minahal ko sya!" she wailed to the senators and onlookers. "Inuto niya ako na matagal na niya akong gusto." (tanga) "Ang kapal ng mukha mo!" she accused Kho, inciting Sen. Madrigal to call for a one-minute break. "Ang baduy naman!" sigaw ko.
The Senate hearing was adjourned until further notice. As usual, for projection purposes only.
TRANSCRIPT of Katrina Halili's statement courtesy of Senate reporter Bernadette Tamayo
"Artista po ako. Trabaho ko ang maghatid ng tuwa. Pantasya ng telebisyon at pelikula. Pero tulad ng iba may pribado ring buhay din ako gaya ng lahat. Sa pagkakataong ito. dangal ko at dangal ng pamilya ang pinag uusapan dito. Minahal ko si Hayden. bata ako kaya madaling nalagyan ng piring ang aking mga mata para isisping ako lang ang nagmamay ari ng puso niya. pero gaya ng lahat ng relasyong nagsimula sa kasinunagalingan wala itong pinatunguhan.
Wala akong malay na ang bawat yakap at halik ay scripted. Buong-buo kong binigay yung puso at ang kaluluwa ko sa isang lalaking gumagawa pala ng sariling pelikula. Ang tanga ko. Imbes na doktor, direktor pala. Inaamin ko ang pagkakamali ko. Ang pagkakamali ko ay minahal ko siya. At naniwala ako na minahal nya rin ako ng lubusan.
Ako raw ang prinsesa niya sa ikalawa niyang mundo. Bata po ako madali niya ako napaniwala. Ako ang biktima rito. Araw-araw biktima ako habang pinapanood ang nasabing video. Hangad ko po ang hustisya at hukuman kahit alam kong habang buhay ko nang dadalhin ang ginawa sa akin.
Patay na ako pero may video pa rin at may Internet. Dalawa lang kasong sinampa ko sa pambababoy na ginawa sa akin sa pagkatao ko. Gusto ko siyang matanggalan ng lisensiya bilang doktor. Wala siyang karapatan maging doktor. Gusto ko rin siyang makulong at pagdusahan niya ang ginawa niya sa akin.
Pero ano pong iginanti nila. Kasama ni Hayden ang kanyang ina. Sari-saring paninira ang binato nila sa akin at sa mga taong tumutulong sa akin. Inabuso na ako at binaboy ako pa ang may sala. Inabuso na nga ako sa sex video. Inaabuso pa rin ako sa sex video, inaabuso pa ako muli sa publiko.
And issue dito ay pang-aabuso sa kababaihan. Ang pambababoy sa akin at sa iba pang biktima ni Hayden. Sa kultura po natin habang buhay na latay sa pagkatao ko ang ginawa sa akin. May ina din po ako na nasasaktan. Araw-araw na nagdurusa. May anak o kapatid din po kayo na babae. Ayaw din nyo mangyari sa kanila ang sinapit ko.
Sana ipagpatuloy ng Senado at madaliin ang pagsusulong ng mga batas na may layuning itaguyod ang karapatan at proteksyon para sa aming kababaihan dahil iba na ang ginagamit na panggagahasa at pambababoy sa karapatan ng kababaihan. Sa Intenet, sa blogs, DVDs at iba pa.
Nabiktima ako. Isa ako sa maraming babaeng naloko at niloko ni Hayden Kho. Pero may hangganan ang katangahan. At sa araw na ito buong loob na humaharap sa inyo na puno ng respeto sa sarili. Ilalaban ko ang aking karapatan ng mabuhay ng marangal, ng walang takot at malayo sa karanasang inabot ko dahil sa sex video.
Sana po sa publiko itigil na po natin ang pagtangkilik sa mga sex videos at malalaswang panoorin. Kung walang tumatangkilik wala rin din pong gagawa ng mga sex video. Sana po ang pangalang Katrina Halili na lang ang huling sa mga sex videos. Sana po wala ng susunod pa. Salamat po.
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