Cory Aquino: One Courageous Leader

When news broke out that former President Cory C. Aquino was battling the dreaded colon cancer, it jolted everyone about their own vulnerability and shocked many that the woman in yellow is suffering at a time when this country needed more noble leaders and a moral mother.

She has lived a very remarkable life and has sacrificed many things to served this country more than any leader after her term. For Cory, courage is the highest virtue.

Cory never turned her back on a good fight and always faced danger with courage. For instance, when the rebel soldiers were closing in on her Arlegui residence during the 1989 coup attempt and death stared at her in the eye, Cory refused to leave the Palace. Instead, she turned over her most valuable possessions, including Ninoy’s prison diaries, to her trusted Appointments Secretary Margie Juico. Cory then asked Secretary Juico to leave the Palace because it was getting dangerous and to look after her own children. Cory would survive that trial, and many more after.

Even as she is suffering from her current illness, Cory is still thinking about the welfare of others and finds it difficult to think that she might be an inconvenience to others. This is what Cory was, is and forever to all democratic Filipinos. An icon that is other-centered, focused on the welfare of the country, its people and her family.

To the younger generation who cannot appreciate the efforts of Cory, this description about her life written by Mr. Cesar R. Bacani in a pamphlet that was published by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation aptly described her life:

To the world, she is the widow in yellow who toppled a dictatorship in a stirring show of People Power in 1986. To her native Philippines, she is the courageous president who saw off a series of coups d’etat and single-mindedly restored the institutions of democracy. But to herself, Corazon C. Aquino is a plain housewife who, in all conscience, could not refuse her country’s call to service when her husband, former senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr., was assassinated in 1983. She continues to serve after her term of office ended in 1992 through her work with nongovernmental organizations. "What is important is that we believe in the Almighty and that we try to do whatever we can to help ease some of the sufferings of our people," she says. "I always tell my children: ‘I don’t know how many good years I still have left, but whatever I can do at this time, I really want to be able to continue not only for the cause of democracy, but also to help in bringing about a better Filipino. For the rest of my life, I will be doing whatever I can to improve things."

Please don’t get this blog writer wrong. This is not an obituary nor hinting at one. This post is a tribute to a leader who has given a lot for this country, before, during and after her presidency. Actually, she should have not done anything more, but she knows that she could still be the morale force after her retirement.

To those who want to express their concern and support for Cory Aquino, this blog would like to invite you to visit a site dedicated to her: Cory Aquino - A Call To Prayer.

Bloggers can also show their support by posting a 125x125 yellow ribbon avatar on their site just like the one posted on the sidebar and after this paragraph. Copy the codes below for those who just want to paste it on their blogs.

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Tara Passes Away

Antonia Marina "Tara" Santelices, the jeepney robbery victim who was shot in the head almost a year ago and was featured in this blog awhile back, passed away on 27 July 2009.

The report of Tara's passing was announced by GMA News' Arnold Clavio after he received a text message from her mother, Anne. Tara reportedly succumbed to cardiac arrest after she was brought to the Medical City in Pasig City last 25 July because of an infection.

For those who are not familiar with Tara's plight, she captured the nation's sympathy and anger when she was shot on her 23rd birthday last 6 August 2008 while she was on board a jeepney passing through Imelda Avenue in Cainta, Rizal.

After being in comatose for five months, she was taken out of the intensive care unit as doctors said she no longer needed a respirator to breathe. She was subsequently brought home while private nurses attended to her.

Last February, Santelices’ family and friends sought financial help to pay for hospital bills that reportedly reached PhP 1.8 million.

Despite the public outrage, it was obvious that the crime against Tara was not given enough attention by government officials. If she were a daughter of a prominent politician who does nothing but fatten their pockets with grease funds or of a government drug agent being used by the administration to fulfill their dream of a nationwide declaration of martial law or of a government corporation executive who represents the scrounger, wastrel and dopehead in this country, then her case would have prospered faster.

This kind of crime against women and children is very rampant nowadays and the people charged to resolve these cases seem contented to while their time away from where the action is. This practice is not acceptable to any decent taxpayer and must be stopped. There is nothing funny about premeditated mutilation, murder and rape of the innocents. Even parental negligence should be taken into account and meted a harsh punishment regardless of excuses about poverty and unemployment.

It is high time that the authorities and the liberal-elite appeasers of human rights to put a stop to this inhumane, barbaric, ignorant medieval murderous nonsense dressed up as a 'crime of the poor' by punishing the guilty perpetrators in the most inhumane, barbaric and medieval manner for everyone to see.

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A Preview of GMA's SONA

If there are no changes in the draft speech of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her ninth State of the Nation Address (SONA) today (27 July 2009) could last between 45 minutes to one hour. This was also confirmed by Press Secretary Cerge Remonde in an interview on dzXL although he said there might be last minute refinement and changes.

"It's more or less 10 pages, that's the normal length of her SONA, that's about 45 minutes to one hour. (It will be) very interesting," Remonde said.

"This (SONA) will warm the hearts of the supporters of the president. Para naman sa mga undecided it may convert some of them. Wala tayong magagawa sa mga talagang kritiko ng pangulo (This SONA would be interesting as it would uplift Mrs. Arroyo's supporters and even convert those who are undecided about her administration. As to her critics, we can’t do anything about them)," he added.

The President, Remonde said will definitely be honest. Hmmm ... that should I suppose will make her stand in good stead when she has to deal again with her juvenile Cabinet. Remonde also stressed that majority of leaders support her except for a few again who are among her critics who will never see anything good in what she does.

Just a correction though to the above statement of Secretary Remonde. Nobody will take issue with the President on the good things that she did, but the public knows that the admirable efforts are overshadowed by the actions of a few people in her cabinet and her family that are clearly piss-taking, greedy and profiteering bastards who does not give a toss about the economy, poverty and health of Filipinos.

Now these nutcases in Malacañang who always reek of hypocrisy may also be the ones who drafted President Arroyo's SONA's pronouncements. It is not really certain at this point though, but the signs in the outline of the speech seems to indicate in that direction. A copy of that outline is posted below:

Maraming Salamat Pangulong Gloria

Emergency Employment Program

1. Sa kabuuan may halos 34.993 milyon na ang may trabaho as of April 2009 kumpara sa 33.458 milyon noong April 2008.


2. Mula 2005 hangang 2008 mayroon ng 3.6 milyong Pilipino ang nakapagtrabaho abroad na nakapagbigay ng may halos $5.5 bilyon sa unang apat na buwan ng 2009 na mas mataas ng 206% as unang apat na buwan ng 2008. Noong 2008 may $16.4 bilyong dolyar ang nailagak sa kaban ng bansa na mas mataas ng 13.7% noong 2007.

Livelihood Assistance

Sa 353 target MSME at 226 target cooperatives, mayroon na halos 26 MSME ang natulungan at 152 copperatives ang nabiyayaan ng tulong. Ito’y ilan lamang sa kanyang livelihood na programa

Simula 2004 may P305.57 bilyon na ang naipautang ng pamahalaan sa mamamayan para sa pagtatayo ng MSME’s ito ay lumikha ng 2.5 milyong trabaho.

Housing Program

Sa kabuuang bilang mula 2001 hanggang May 2009 humigit na sa bilang na 2.6 milyong pamilya ang nabiyayaan ng programang pabahay ni Presidente Arroyo.

Health Programs

1. May 66 milyong Pilipino ang nakinabang o 74% na populasyon ang nakikinabang sa Philhealth na Programa ng Presidente Arroyo.


2. May halos 14,000 Botika ng Barangay at Botika ng Bayan Outlets sa buong bansa na nakapagibibigay ng murang gamut.


3. Naglaan ng P500 milyong piso para sa pagpapaayos ng mga ospital

Food Security

F.I.E.L.D.S program ( umabot na sa halos P3.18 bilyong naipautang para sa 108,760 magsasaka at mangingisda, P6.32 bilyong pautang para sa palay sa 221,110 magsasaka, at P3.2 milyong halaga ng fertilizer subsidy program discount coupons.

Infrastructure Program

May kabuuang 154 na pangunahing infrastructure projects sa apat na na super regions kung saan 37 ang naitayo.

1. National roads – 6,536, 408 kilometers


2. Flood Control – 1,329 projects


3. Water supply, irrigation and other public infrastructure – 7,713 projects


4. Tulay ng Pangulo sa Barangay – 410 tulay


5. Country side Bridge project- 200 tulay


6. Tulay ng Pangulo sa Kaulnaran- 8 bridges at 4 flyovers

Education Program

1. Mahigit 4.5 milyong studyante sa kolehiyo, high school at elementarya ang nabigyan ng scholarship ni Presidente Arroyo mula 2001 hanganng 2009 pinakamarami sa lahat ng naging pangulo ng bansa.


2. May kabuuang 82, 933 silid-aralan ang naipagawa mula taong 2001


3. Nabawasan ang classroom-pupil ratio mula 1:50 sa 1:45 na lamang.

As of January 2009 umabot na sa 379,345 households ang nabiyayaan ng 4P’s programa ni Pangulong Arroyo at mula Pebrero hanggang Disyembre 2009 mayroon pang karagdagang 319,671 households upang makumpleto ang kabuuang target na 699,016 households.

6.1 milyong batang nakinabang sa Food for School Program.

Maraming Salamat Pangulong Gloria!

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3 Pinoy Studes Wins WB Essay Tilt

Three Filipino students have bested some 2,000 entries from 150 countries in the recently-concluded World Bank 2009 International Essay Competition, with this year's topic focusing on "How does climate change affect you? How do you tackle climate change through youth-led solutions?"

Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols from the University of the Philippines-Visayas won third place in the video essay category with his piece, "Losing shores, losing more," while Jernalyn Gayon from the Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City won third place in the photograph category.

On the other hand, Miguel Antonio Garcia, a student of the University of San Carlos, Cebu City was chosen as a finalist in the essay writing category with his entry, "Stepping Up To The Challenge: The Cebuano Youth in the Climate Change Crisis." His essay made an impact on fellow participants making him one of the most aware about the issue on climate change.

In his essay, Garcia said, "the youth can serve as an effective force in encouraging people to redo their lifestyles and prod stakeholders to make a concrete plan of action. A well-thought framework, strong research armor and a concerted effort among different youth-led initiatives are key steps to strengthen the youth's influence in society."

Other Philippine entries, which included eight other essays, a video and a photograph were among the best submitted to the World Bank, making the Philippines the country with the most number of top entries, along with Indonesia.

The other essays that were shortlisted were written by Denise Margaret Matias, Maria Angela Abad, Paul John Gesta, Reah Gonzales, Jan Michael Jose, Vincenzo Molejon, David Michael San Juan and Luthfi Raditya Soekartawi, an Indonesian living in the Philippines.

Ma. Krizia Ledesma was also a finalist with her photograph showing children lining up for water with their pails and buckets, as well as Jason Paul Laxamana with his video "Cool Me Up, Please!"

The International Essay Competition, which was launched last January is an annual, worldwide contest targeting youth aged 18-25 and managed by the World Bank Office in Paris. This year's competition was sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance and World Bank.

The World Bank has been largely focusing on young people since the youth segment's population aged 12-24 reached 1.3 billion worldwide, the largest in history.

"Youths are key agents of change, but too often the nature and impact of their projects are not recognized or documented sufficiently, and youth face difficulties being heard and engaging more directly in civic life," a World Bank document on the essay competition said.

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RP Site Enters Final Phase of Envi Poll

The Philippine's Subterranean River National Park in Palawan province is competing with 27 other spectacular natural landmarks in the final phase of the global poll to choose the "New 7 Wonders of Nature."

The Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rain forest, the Dead Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, and Ecuador's Galapagos islands are also among the 28 finalists, according to the organization New 7 Wonders led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The National Park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of the island. The City Government of Puerto Princesa has managed the National Park since 1992.

It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. The underground river is reputed to be the world's longest.

The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.

People can vote by Internet or phone. The winners will be announced in 2011 and share in the glory already enjoyed by the seven man-made wonders chosen two years ago.

Over 1 billion people are expected to join in the voting, said Weber.

"This campaign should contribute to the appreciation — to the knowledge — of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide," he told The Associated Press. "If we or our children want to save anything, we should first appreciate it."

A panel of experts chose the finalists among the 77 nominees that gained the most votes in an early round of polling. People had suggested 261 landmarks in countries all over the world.

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Amnesty Anyone?

Just recently, officials from Malacañang stated that they are willing to grant amnesty to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits. Deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar said that they have backtracked from that statement after receiving some flak, but this does not mean that the public will absolve them for making irresponsible and insensitive remarks in the first place.

It was Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who first dangled the possibility when he said the government is open to Senator Richard Gordon's proposal to grant amnesty to the bandits as part of the plan to achieve long-lasting peace in the troubled southern Philippines region. What an absolute nonsense! What he is really saying is that if the government does not grant the amnesty, they are going to react violently, engage in more kidnapping, undermine current negotiations with other lawless idiotic groups in the region engage in terroristic and barbaric acts, which could lead to further decrease in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's popularity.

The only one thing the so-called 'experts' with political agenda can come up with is to appease these hotheads by effectively giving in to their demands. With decades of experience, Secretary Ermita and Senator Gordon must know by now that any concessions, however small, will lead inevitably to further more extreme demands until stonings to death will take place in the this country. Can they explain their recommendation to the families of the victims, like those in the picture above, who were beheaded by this insane group just for being Christians?

Perhaps both gentlemen might want to observe what is happening in other Muslim countries. Nobody there is rushing to accommodate the demands of right-wing Christian extremist. So why in this world should the Philippine government bend over backwards to appease a brutal, medieval, doctrinal, murderous set of demands from a lawless group who terrorizes both Christians and Muslims in Mindanao.

These two craven apologists need to be told that the policy to crush and eliminate al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits from the faced of this earth is NOT NEGOTIABLE. Once and for all, Ermita and Gordon must forget Muslim votes or any vote for that matter in Mindanao and other parts of the country. They should just focus on nipping in the bud this growing urge to appease any demands from criminal groups.

If the Philippine military find it hard to crush these mindless bandits because they are poorly-equipped, then why not admit that in public so that everyone would find a good reason to strip the fat lawmakers with their pork barrel funds and used it instead to purchase the logistics needed. If ever Malacañang can do these, they may get the ire of Congress, but at least they can secure another mandate in 2010.

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Roots of Arroyo-Lopez Feud

If everyone in the Philippines can't help but feel that there must be something wrong in the way the Lopez family and the Macapagals and Arroyos deal with each other and in different sections of the economy, a 1994 study by University of Wisconsin historian Alfred McCoy seems to offer a valid explanation.

According to McCoy, the bad feelings between the Macapagals and Lopezes started more than four decades ago, when Diosdado Macapagal, President Arroyo’s father, was elected president of the Philippines in 1961. Back then, Eugenio Lopez and his younger brother Fernando not only financed his rival’s campaign but they were maneuvering for control of Congress to position Fernando for a presidential run in 1965. Hence, President Macapagal tried to employ the full powers of the state to bring the Lopez empire down.

This explains a lot why the government strongly backed the attempt of the Social Security Service (SSS) early this year to take control of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), a Lopez-owned company.

According to another article by investigative reporter Greg Rushford entitled "Clan Warfare Hobbles the Philippines" which was published in the July/August edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, criminal complaints were drawn up by Macapagal’s justice department charging the Lopez brothers with corruption in a land deal, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue went after Lopez-owned sugar mills. The Macapagal administration also tried to remove Eugenio Lopez from the board of Meralco, which was then already the largest electricity distributor in the country.

"Ultimately, the moves failed, and Macapagal was defeated in his 1965 reelection bid by a rising young politician named Ferdinand Marcos, who enjoyed the Lopez family’s support," Rushford said.

Meanwhile, Rushford pointed out, the bad blood between the family of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and the Lopezes went even farther back—as far as the 1920s when the province of Iloilo was run by Gov. Mariano Arroyo, the grandfather of the First Gentleman. This allegation was supported by McCoy's study which showed that in 1929, Eugenio Lopez Sr. owned the local newspaper, El Tiempo, and used it to launch himself as a power broker in Iloilo City.

"Governor Arroyo’s problem was that he was taking bribes from an illegal gambling racket—although he would deny the fact that gambling was going on when the Lopez-owned El Tiempo exposed it in a series of well-documented investigative reports," Rushford said.

The ensuing battle between the Lopezes and Arroyos ended with US colonial authorities sacking Governor Arroyo, having concluded that he had indeed taken bribes from a gambling syndicate.

"This defeat, indeed destruction, of the province’s leading politician was a stunning political victory for Eugenio Lopez who, at 29, was still a neophyte publisher," according to McCoy’s study.

Rushford pointed out that the Arroyo family never regained its political clout until the future First Gentleman married Gloria Macapagal.

"Although the President and her husband have denied any ill feelings toward the Lopezes, the recent headlines in Manila suggest otherwise," Rushford said.

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Pinoy Math Wizards Harvest Medals

It was reported by Rainier Allan Ronda of The Philippine STAR on 12 July that thirteen Filipino high school math wizards held their own and harvested a crop of silver and bronze medals for the Philippines in the 10th Invitational World Youth Mathematics Inter-cities Competition (IWYMIC) held in Durban, South Africa.

Four members of the Philippines’ Team A posted a first runner-up finish in the team category competitions earning a trophy and a silver medal each for its four members namely Geraldine Baniqued, a senior at St. Paul College-Pasig; Arielle Elise Chua of St. Jude Catholic School-Manila; John Russell Virata of Gideon Academy; and Zheng Rong Wu of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School.

The Philippines Team B, composed of Adrian Raphael Co of the British School Manila; Matthew Chris Chan of St. Stephen’s High School; Ostin John Ong of the Bacolod Trinity Christian School; and Vance Eldric Go of St. Jude Catholic School-Manila, landed a second runner-up trophy and a bronze medal each for its four members.

Six of the 13 Filipino participants bagged a bronze medal each in the individual category competitions including Baniqued, Virata, Wu, Chan, Go and Elvis Jeremy Ayroso of Philippine Science High School-Manila for high marks in the individual category competition.

The Philippines’ reigning sudoku grand master, 14-year-old Sarah Jane Cua, a junior at the Pangasinan Universal Institute, who was put in the Canada International All-Girls Team, also won a bronze medal when her Canada team won a second runner-up trophy, earning for her a bronze medal.

Five of the Filipino whiz kids were awarded a certificate of merit for satisfactory scores in the individual category namely Paolo Manuel Iyulores of the Ateneo de Manila University High School, Chua, Co, Ong and Sarah Jane Cua of Pangasinan Universal Institute.

All 13 members of the Philippine delegation also won a bronze medal each when their teams, Philippines’ Team A, B, C, and Cua’s all-girls team, also posted second runner-up finish and a bronze medal each including the members of the Philippines’ Team C composed of Janssen Kotah of the Philippine Cultural College; Hanz Vladimir Cabanes of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School; Iyulores of Ateneo High School; and Ayroso of Philippine Science High School-Manila.

The 13 RP whiz kids, who were led by team leaders Dr. Eduardo de la Cruz, dean of the Arellano University College of Education and principal of the university’s elementary school; and Dr. Isidro Aguilar of the Department of Education, both of the Mathematics’ Trainers Guild-Philippines, were given their medals, trophies and certificates in formal awards ceremonies held at the auditorium of the Durban City Hall last Thursday night.

Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics’ Trainers’ Guild-Philippines, that prepared the victorious students for the 10th IWYMIC in Durban, expressed satisfaction over their respectable performance in the tournament.

"It was satisfactory. But we hope to do better in the other international math contests this year and in next year’s IWYMIC that will be held in Inchon, South Korea," Chua, who is the lone Filipino recipient of the prestigious Paul Erdos International Award for Mathematics Excellence, told The STAR.

"We can do better. We can win gold medals. Especially if our students are given the proper math training," Chua, a member of the 10th IWYMIC’s international panel of examiners and judges, said.

The 10th IWYMIC drew participants from 19 countries including Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Zambia, Zimbabwe, host country South Africa, and the Philippines.

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Rich Boys, Deadly Boys

Whether it is a hate crime or a fraternity war, nobody can really ascertain. However, one thing is clear Don Albert Philippe Cueto Pangcog (pictured above) was beaten to a pulp with lead pipes until he lost consciousness. Fortunately for him, he was not killed even after he was able to claw the bonnets off his attackers face and memorize their identities.

The Ateneo law student later identified his alleged attackers as fellow law students Mark Bryan Magno, his brother Mark Lester, both residents of Filinvest-1, Quezon City and Joya Condominium, Rockwell Center; Carlos Lim, from Pilar Village, Las Piñas City and Palmeras Building, Palma St., Bgy. Poblacion, Makati City; and Randy Garcia Echaus, of 45 Valle Verde Mansion, Pasig City.

In this country where poverty levels are still very high, an alleged crime committed by one of the member of the affluent society against their rich colleague would hardly evoke any interest in barber shop talks or in the side streets Quiapo. Nonetheless, since the brazen attack was carried out against a victim who is also capable of hiring goons, guns and gold, the debate about spoiled rich kids welding too much volatile ego capable of exploding anytime rumbles on.

Crimes like the one mentioned above are imprinted in the public’s mind, despite government claims that violent crime is falling and that they are dispensing justice equally. And just when everyone thinks things could not get any worse, the public prosecutor's office will take charge of the case. Can anybody on this planet recall with certainty the conviction rate of this institution?

Before anyone can answer that question or even say 'dream on', sniggering candidates for the 2010 national election will most probably take up the cause of the victim and prattle at a press conference about their propose measure to solve the problem. Fine bloody politicians we have.

Makati City chief of police Senior Supt. Cedrick Train said that aside from Mark Bryan, the other suspects are at large. He added there have been numerous calls from various quarters following up on the case but declined to name any of them or their position in government. "Andaming tumatawag; kung sino-sino but rest assured we would not succumb to pressure and we would handle this investigation properly," Train said

Once again everyone see that as far as this political nonentity is concerned, the rich families are trying to use their clout to influence the outcome of the investigation. It might be a better idea if Senior Supt. Train just name who these people are, built more jails in Makati and locked them up even without proper charges. And if these families of idiotic spoiled brats continue to pester the investigators, feed them to the equally idiotic Abu Sayyak bandits.

Instead of delivering another mealy-mouthed banality that solves precisely nothing, the government might be more effective in doing their jobs if they can effect a harsher penalty for those involve in hate crimes. They can start by increasing the jail term of those convicted to at least 15 years without any chance of parole or pardon regardless who is the sitting President. Once that is done, everyone can just sit back and watch senseless beatings disappear, unless police authorities are sleeping on their jobs.

It should also be the time for the government authorities to involve parents in crimes like this. They should be penalized for failing to control or report their wayward kids. Also, the government should sentence to death all their idealist social engineers who have spent the last decade or so encouraging family breakdown and dismantling the value systems that taught kids some respect and social responsibility. These are the same incompetent social dreamers that has dumbed down the education system and made many children follow in blind fate the teachings of the Catholic Church.

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Guidelines Against ATM Scams

The Bankers' Association of the Philippines (BAP) is urging depositors to take extra care when using automated teller machines (ATMs).

The call for added vigilance was triggered by the recent case of ATM fraud in foreign countries, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The fraud involves capturing the stored personal identification number (PIN), card number, and other relevant information by skimming the magnetic strip of the ATM card using a specialized scanner. The captured information is then copied to produce a duplicate ATM card, allowing the scammers to make unauthorized withdrawals without the cardholder's knowledge.

The BAP also advises member banks to remind branch officers, employees and security guards to do the following:

• Regularly inspect ATMs and booths for any unusual and non-bank installed devices (e.g. hidden cameras, cloning devices, glued traps); and,


• Maintain alertness and closely observe suspicious individuals within bank premises, particularly around ATM booths.

For assistance, ATM depositors are advised to immediately contact ATM hotline numbers which are normally posted on ATM machines.

"The Philippine banks are taking all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its clients," said BAP in a statement. "Nonetheless, we are urging the people to take added care when using the ATM. By exercising vigilance, there will be lesser chance for users to be victimized by any fraud."

The BAP advises users to adhere to the safety guidelines in using the ATM:

1. Never divulge your PINs to other persons. Change PINs if you think your PINs have been compromised.


2. Cover the ATM keypad when entering your PIN. In case there is a hidden camera attached to the machine, covering the keypad with your other hand while entering the numbers could prevent the capture of your PIN.


3. Cover the screen while using the ATM. Ensure that the ATM screen is not seen by other people while you are making your transaction.


4. Use only ATMs that are in well-lit and located in secured areas.


5. Do not use ATMs that appear to have tampered card or cash slots. Report anything that seems suspicious to the corresponding bank immediately.


6. Be aware of your surroundings when using the ATM. Look around to check for suspicious characters lurking around the vicinity. Make sure that the person next in line to use the ATM is keeping a safe distance from you.


7. Do not entertain strangers who attempt to engage you in a conversation or pretend to offer help while you are transacting in an ATM. This person may just be after your PIN and card number.


8. Please ensure that you have retrieved cash, ATM card, and ATM transaction slips when transacting at the ATM.

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Bloody Sunday at Cotabato City

Sunday was supposed to be a day that families spent together and enjoy the beauty of life. But last Sunday (5 July) turned out to be a Bloody Sunday for churchgoers after an idiot who does not deserve a liter of air detonated a bomb packed with nails and jagged iron across the cathedral in Cotabato City.

The blast killed six people, including 11-year-old Prince Allen Diaz, who was felled by shrapnel right where he stood and Jeofrey Sayre, 15-months old, who expired late Monday (6 July 2009) afternoon after metal fragments from the improvised explosive device perforated his lungs. Among those injured and are still fighting for their lives at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC) are Jeffrey's siblings Janissa, 11, and John Ray, 9.

Jeofrey, Janissa and John Ray are being treated by their carpenter father, Anacleto Sayre, 32, in an eatery that day together with their mother.

To whoever did this, are you happy now?

Now this blog usually has no time for Neanderthal terrorist who can't fight their own battles without endangering children, but it is very obvious that whoever did this does not look intelligent enough to organize or carry out a more complicated attack. Just because the bomb exploded it does not mean the criminals got their message across. In fact, nobody knows what the motive was to begin with to even start sympathizing with their cause.

As expected the Moro militants are suspected to have detonated the bomb, which they, of course, readily denied so as not to get any negative publicity. But it is nevertheless gratifying to know that the authorities, for once, have devoted time and resources to solve the case to reassure both Christian and Muslim communities about such theoretical threats. Police in Cotabato City usually can be seen only when they are dishing out fines for minor and petty crimes, but not they are on their toes and running fast to get to the bottom on who should be held accountable. Hopefully, they are not running like headless chicken.

Now, all this suspicion begs the question – why is the government having a hard time squashing these useless terrorist groups in Mindanao? How can they ever let this happen again and again and again? Are there no sufficient intelligence information that can be relied upon to prevent another attack against civilians instead of the usual crazy and perverse desire to spend for election infomercials and self-serving advocacy materials?

The Moro Islamic Liberation front (MILF) still exists. The New People's Army (NPA) are still holding fort. There are still various nutcase 'clerics' running the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who continue to sprout hatred at all forms of decent life. They have been here for decades now and the government still keeps on collecting enormous amounts of money from the taxpayer for supposedly eradicating all of them. When can the country see an end to these criminal groups, including the lunacy that they proudly believed as an ideal society? Definitely not before 2010.

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May Vecina Should Serve Her Time

Two years after escaping death in Kuwait, the Philippine government has arranged for the return of May Vecina to the country. Vecina, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose death sentence was waived after a full pardon by Kuwait’s ruler, will undoubtedly appear in several shows professing her eternal gratitude to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The 30-year-old OFW received a pardon from Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah after she was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year old son Salem Sulaiman al-Otaib on 6 January 2007. The mother of two from North Cotabato province, was also accused of attempting to kill the victim’s 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy’s throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her.

With all the resources of the government focused on saving the worthless hide of somebody like Vecina, officials clearly showed that they really have this strange sense of priority and propriety. Why would anybody in government have the stomach of using the taxpayers money to save from death row an oxygen-wasting creep like Vecina who already shown the world that she has the propensity to hurt, maim and even kill defenseless children? Why should the government continue to allow Vecina to breed more dysfunctional Filipinos who can spread more violence and misery, not only in this country, but to the world as well.

She reportedly suffered severe maltreatment at the hands of her employer causing her to sustain "temporary insanity" leading to her deadly rampage. Vecina also alleged that her employer repeatedly tried to sexually molest her but that she fought off those attempts.

If this is really the case, then kill the employer for crying out loud. There is no reason in this world that can justify an act of killing a seven-year old boy. Another fact is that she also attempted to kill a 13 and a 17-year old. Common sense and justice dictates that she should rot in jail just like Bernard Madoff.

"I don’t remember anything," was all May Vecina could say when interviewed about the crime. That's pure bullshit! Who can ever forget a crime like that? Maybe she just wanted everyone not to dwell much on the gory details, while cashing in on the assistance of politicians who only wanted to get their 15-minutes of fame on television. In this case, then the more that she should be condemned by everyone.

Why in the world would anybody show concern for her when there are other more important things to do to promote child welfare in this country of 90 million. There are still too many child abuse cases pending in the undermanned courts, several child abusers are still roaming the streets unchecked, child and infant mortality rates are still at very disturbing levels, nutritional awareness among mothers are still very high, drug taking and distribution using children as mules are still rampant and there are just too many unwanted children born every minute because the government failed to provide an effective reproductive health program.

It will be instructive albeit not surprising anymore to see the government using the unemployable Vecina as a public relations officer to try and prop up its image among OFWs in 2010. And this kind of stupid stance is all the more deplorable when one consider efforts to also free Bienvenido Espino Jr. who was jailed in Kuwait for stabbing Jhias Gumapac, a 30-year-old Filipina working as a barista, 33 times over a laptop given to her as collateral.

It is high time for this sort of government idiocy to stop. Assistance like this to brutal criminals like Vecina and Espino Jr. are an epitome of misplaced public priority and a sinful use of meager financial resources. If these convicted and soon-to-be convicted criminals cannot do the time, they should not do the crime. And if they really had been heroic OFWs deserving all the praises as the country's next set of heroes then they would not have been in jail in the first place.

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Barrage of Scams After MJ's Death

It was reported by The Associated Press (AP), that minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mails and throw up malicious Web sites to infect victims' computers, hoping to capitalize on the sudden high demand for information.

Michael Jackson's death was no different, and security experts say the fraud artists are just getting started.

The scams started cropping up almost instantaneously as Jackson's death was still hitting the news. As days have gone by, they've gotten more sophisticated — and dangerous.

Jackson's death "took a lot of people by surprise — the spammers, too," said Dermot Harnett, principal analyst for anti-spam engineering at Symantec Corp., a security software maker. "It might take them some time to really pounce on this issue. They are catching up pretty quickly, though."

Any major world event, such as the recent protests in Iran, triggers a barrage of Internet attacks. Security experts say the malicious traffic associated with Jackson's death will likely match and perhaps exceed those of other big spamming campaigns, such as those connected with the swine flu outbreak and Saddam Hussein's execution.

Spam is the most common way for fraudsters to find victims after these types of events. They can use a shotgun approach with a boilerplate message about Jackson, taking advantage of people's interests in the topic to improve their batting average over their usual spam campaigns.

By enticing users with such messages and tricking them into clicking on e-mail attachments, scammers can easily infect victims' computers and take command of them for more nefarious activities.

The spam about Jackson's death gets more convincing every day.

One message promises a YouTube video showing the exclusive "last work of Michael Jackson." Instead, victims get a malicious program that steals their passwords. Another promises to show the "latest unpublished photos" of Jackson if you click on a link — one that also tries to install a password-stealing program on your machine.

Others purport to be from legitimate news outlets and may contain accurate enough information to convince viewers they're real enough to click on. Others promise access to secret songs.

The effects of specific spam campaigns, like the one surrounding Jackson's death, are hard to quantify, though. Spam levels are already so high that there might not be a noticeable increase in overall spam levels, Harnett said. By some estimates spam accounts for more than 90 percent of all e-mail sent around the world, though the bulk of the messages get filtered out before ever reaching the user.

Celebrity deaths are a gold mine for criminals because lots of people go online looking for news. Google Inc. says the spike in searches for news stories about Jackson's death was so sharp the company initially mistook it for an automated attack.

Many of the information-seekers can be tricked, via e-mail, into visiting malicious Web sites. That opens the door to all kinds of nastiness, like spying on what someone's typing or using the hijacked machine to send spam.

There are also so many more Web sites about celebrities after their deaths that it's hard to figure out which ones are legitimate fan sites, and which ones were created by criminals.

Registrations of domain names related to Jackson have spiked since the pop icon died Thursday afternoon. A leading registration company, GoDaddy.com, said it registered about 7,500 such names since then. Actress Farrah Fawcett, who died the same day, got about 100 domains in the same period. GoDaddy said, however, that it had yet to get any complaints that any of those addresses were used for scams.

Within minutes of Jackson's death hitting the news, scammers started sending out spam e-mails with links purportedly to provocative news stories or videos about Jackson. The news stories, of course, never appear. Instead, people who click on those links are often directed to sites that try to install viruses.

Another thing to remember: It's not wise even to just "check out" a link you're interested in if you suspect the site might be bogus. Sometimes just visiting a malicious Web site is enough to get you infected, and you don't need to actively download anything at all.

Many scams do ask people to download a video player or other piece of software — supposedly so they can see the video or hear the audio — that winds up being a piece of malicious software.

The lesson for users is, as always, avoid unsolicited links from senders you don't know, and don't install any programs that an unknown site is telling you need.

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