The Philippines is one of the countries that suffer the most from extreme weather events, which exact a high death toll and economic losses, a study by an international think tank said.
Analyzing data from 1991 to 2010, Germanwatch, a climate and development organization, said the Philippines ranked 10th among countries when it came to exposure and responding to severe weather caused by climate change.
All the countries identified to be most affected in the past two decades were developing countries, the study noted.
Aside from the Philippines, these were Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), …

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has sought the help of historians in rectifying what could be an oversight in proclaiming revolutionary General Miguel Malvar as the rightful second President of the Philippines.
In his letter to National Historical Commission chair Maria Serena I. Diokno and heads of history departments of various universities and colleges, Binay said he received information that Malvar was Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s right-hand during the war against the United States and took over command when the latter (Aguinaldo) was captured by American forces in Palanan, Isabela.
Since he took …

By Teresa Cerojano
Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A senior Philippine official said Friday that studies have found structural flaws in a 9-year-old Manila airport terminal that suffered a partial ceiling collapse in 2006.
Two engineering companies and one engineers’ association that examined Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 3 found flaws of varying degrees of seriousness, said Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II.
He said one study found only slight defects that can easily be fixed, another said it’s more serious and the third believes it’s “very serious.” The terminal was largely …

The photo of the ‘floating’ DPWH officials has been the talk around the blogosphere for a couple of days now pero hanggang ngayon aliw na aliw pa rin ako sa mga iba’t-ibang versions circulating online. Listed below are my favorites:

Check them out sa Abbey Road!
Join din sila sa ‘We are the World’ (Can you spot them here?)
Kasama naman nila dito ang mga rallying plankers
DPWH-ing with the ‘Eraserheads’. Cool!!!
Ginawan din sila ng version with the UP Pep Squad
Sinama din sila sa ‘Hogwarts’ with Harry Potter and friends
May version din sila sa …

By Ronnie Nathanielsz in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer
ANN – Tue, Sep 13, 2011
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) – It is becoming increasingly evident that pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao is either surrounded by incompetent advisers, including lawyers who don’t know the law, or that he is stubborn enough to ignore them.
Pacquiao’s announcement that he plans to run for vice president in 2016 was met by disbelief by most people, not because of the audacity of his announcement but the fact that under the Constitution of the Republic he is ineligible to run because …

by JasonandMahalia Shoup
September 7, 2011 (Wednesday) at 10:47am
Bago ko simulan ang aking makabagbag-damdaming pagbulusok ng aking saloobin ukol kay James Soriano, basahin muna ang kanyang mabilis na pinahing artikulo na iniwasto naman (grammatically) ni Migs Bassig sa link na ito:
http://migsbassig.blogspot.com/2011/08/editing-james-soriano.html
Kung gusto niyo naman nag cached version ng pinahing article na:
Language, learning, identity, privilege
Ithink
By JAMES SORIANO
August 24, 2011, 4:06am
Ito ang link:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GMVBu5Hmx9kJ:www.mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege+http://mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege
Ngayong nabasa niyo na, magsisimula na akong mag-himutok. Hindi naayong palampasin lamang at limutin ang artikulong ito. At dahil sa kahihiyan ng Manila Bulletin, agad itong nawala sa internet dalawang araw …

Pilipinas nalugmok ka sa kahirapan
Naiwanan ka na ng kaunlaran
Kapayapaan hindi pa rin matagpuan
Kahit natapos, paghahari ng isang ngalan.
Naglingkod sa iyo ang isang ina
Puno ng pag-asa, puno din ng kudeta
Sunod sa dikta ng “masa” at simbahan
Ganap na liwanag di naman natagpuan.
Pinasakay ka naman ng isang heneral
Ang lipad sa ibang bansa ay madalas
Kaysa sa mga probinsyang hirap ay dinaranas
Kayraming scam, katotohanang di nailabas.
Lumabas ang nag-angking anak ng masa
Sumigaw, “walang kaibigan kapag nagkasala”
Subalit siya ang nahatulang nagkasala
Dahil sa korapsyon at jueteng payola.
Siyam na taon kang pinaikot sa kamay
Isang munting nilalang, malago ang galamay
Gabineteng …

How are you doing President Noynoy?
Well, my name is Reyna Elena. I was your number one supporter during the election, attacked by an unbelievable online hatred during the campaign because of my support for your presidency. Aherrm!
Oh, by the way, I thought I’d share this with you.
Here is my Elementary School in Castilla, Sorsogon. This picture was taken last week by my friend from Amsterdam. It’s one Uragon building. One unbelievable technology. The best. Western standards will drool at how mini, major and super-typhoons blasted that building away …

Photo Credit: A Celebration of Women
Manila Bulletin
By JC BELLO RUIZ
June 11, 2011, 8:40pm
MANILA, Philippines — President Aquino will lead Sunday’s 113th Independence Day celebration that will start with a flag-raising ceremony in Kawit, Cavite.
After leading the Kawit flag-raising rites, the President will proceed to Malacañang for the Vin D’ Honneur at 10 a.m. in Rizal Hall.
At 4 p.m., the President will proceed to the Quirino Grandstand for the 113th Philippine Independence Day celebration and parade.
“If you’re not doing anything with your families, of course, you are most welcome to join …

Note: This is a repost. Article and photos courtesy of Orchestroscopy:

Blood stains. I saw them everyday for months during a certain period in my life. Blood on the floor, on hospitals gowns and on previously pristine white sheets. The room could almost be a set of a horror movie if not for the dozens of crying babies and nursing mothers..
For weeks it was always the same routine. Everyday, I would march the hallway armed with my medical artillery. Thermometer, stethoscope, a sphygmomanometer and a piece of paper. The whole bond …

“Pwedeng mag-padala?” It’s sort of like this. A Filipino tradition which is now used by drug syndicates. How do you fight this? Simple common sense. Better, refuse any type of “padala” even from anybody. If you choose to bring it with you, inspect the “padala” especially, the “maleta”. This is not just for OFW’s. This is also for all of you–Overseas Filipinos. Sabi nga: “If it’s too good to be true? Hindi yan totoo.”
It’s sad that three OFW’s will be executed in China. I was reading the news about it …

Photo by Kim Komenich
I was still a kid back then. I didn’t know anything outside my personal scope. I remember a few years back when a certain Ninoy was shot dead. Seeing him on TV moments before his death made me realize that this surreality is a signal of a wrong. Something tremendously wrong.
Then EDSA came.
I didn’t know what to do. I can hear the sounds of planes hovering above our rooftops. The number of people outside our street in Dimasalang carrying transistor radios blaring modulated noises are enough to …

Article contributed by: Barbie
Photo credit: Pinoy Weekly
Commuting is very tiring: Squeezing your way through mass transportations, boring your way through the EDSA traffic, contaminating your lungs with smog notwithstanding free unwanted face powder every time smokebelchers pass you by. There are a lot of ways a commuter can describe the stress commuting induces. As for me, it drains me farther after the toxic of school. Look, what will you feel after taking a two-hour exam then when you sardined yourself through MRT the man beside you smells like sinigang. …

Guess who’s baaaaaack!
Oo ako nga, wala nang iba. Charing!

It’s been a long time since my last contribution dito sa Barrio Siete. Maraming dahilan kung bakit hindi na ako muling nakapagsulat dito at kung iisa-isahin pa natin ay baka kulangin ang 48,000 characters na allowed sa amin bilang contributing writers ng Barrio.
Well, ang showbiz na sagot diyan ay naging super busy po ang inyong lingkod sa personal life, sandamakmak na trabajo at deadlines ang aking inatupag at kung hindi ko man ito maasikaso ay baka sa kangkungan na ako pupulutin. Ang …

Metro Manila is the ninth most dynamic city in the world, according to an article in The Atlantic, citing data from Brookings’ Global MetroMonitor on economic output and employment in 150 of the world’s largest metropolitan economies from 1993 to 2010.
“Healthy tourism and demand for IT products helped Manila crack the top ten, in Brookings’ rankings for the first time,” wrote The Atlantic associate editor Derek Thompson. The list is based on income growth and employment as reported by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and London School of Economics (LSE) …

I now pronounce you…

You may kiss the bride!

You can watch the pre-recorded ceremony here: Chapel of Flowers. View this video until: 8/13/2010 05:00 AM PST
Viewed 26369 times by 6039 viewers

From: Jenny Castillo Aquino
Maybe some of you have been wondering what my current beef with the NBI is all about. Here’s the story behind it.

When we apply for an NBI clearance and we get cleared – we normally get our passports, or get employed overseas and it indicates we have no “hits” on the system. We are asked to fill out a form – complete names from your maiden name to the name of your parents as well. Then you line up, for hours, for each and every step it …

Sorry folks kung mainit ang ulo ko today. Woke up this morning. Surfed FB, then I stumbled on this OFW site: Tagpuan nang mga OFW. They were using my OFW Logo. “Ah ok!” so I said to myself.

So, I “liked” the page and browsed. But I found not a single credit to reyna elena dot com, not even a link. Now, I don’t remember getting any email from anyone who wants to use the logo. You see, I spent more than P10,000 for this logo. It’s well documented on …

“Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at walang pagnanakaw. Walang wang-wang, walang counter-flow, walang tong!”

Ex-Congresswoman Annie Susano’s vehicle apprehended for illegal use of wang wang.

Vehicle of Misamis Occidental Vice-Governor apprehended for illegal use of wang wang.

Loren Legarda and her body guards blocking other cars. July2, 2010 Glorietta 4. 2 days after Noynoy ordered a stop to mga “hari ng kalsada”

Marami pa sila dyan. Kung gusto nyong malaman ang iba pa, Isumbong Mo Ang Wang Wang Dito. Kukulo ang dugo mo sa makikita mong ginagawa nang iba saten na akala mo they are …

Saw this on Ellen Tordesillas
Viewed 20135 times by 4605 viewers

Back in the 90’s, I went to Colombia to visit a friend. I remember when I told my boss that I’ll be in Bogotá for 2 weeks, he went nuts! My officemates were laughing at me. I was subjected to a lot of ridicule. “Huh! I’ll prove you all wrong!” I told them. My boss even offered me a free round-trip ticket to go to France instead. You see, back then, Bogotá was a war-zone. It’s spelled: Pablo Escobar. You can’t miss it on American TV. Bombs were exploding all …

Barrio Siete congratulates Jovit Baldovino! He is the first grand winner of Pilipinas Got Talent. Watch out. He will be hitting the international stage pretty soon! I’m sure the world is taking notice. If Journey has Arnel Pineda, I hope he gets invited by Bon Jovi hahaha!

Viewed 18400 times by 4404 viewers

Feel na feel ko ang problema nang CBCP. Kung sa blogging, bagsak na bagsak ang Alexa ranking at walang trapik.
Feel nang ma experts, sila ang problema at sagabal sa pag-unlad.
In the Philippines, where 81% of the 90-million population are Catholic, the Catholic Church is the “single, most powerful veto group,” Anderson said.
He decried how the Catholic Church has successfully impeded the distribution of contraceptives and curtailed the education of people about reproductive health, thereby also slowing down the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Mary Racelis, professor from the University …

We all know that there is a war going on between Cabral and the Church. Sa away na to: Team Cabral ang lola nyo.
Cabral suggested kasi that sex education should start in kindergarten. Nagwala ang mga FB friendships ko hehehe! But the ever-present peacekeeper Inday Espina-Varona explained naman na, sex education is not teaching sex per se. Oo naman, noh? Then again, kahit na walang detalye, Cabral indicated na what’s appropriate to their age ang ituturo sabi Cabral. Let’s just assume na hindi naman talaga saksakang kaliga-ligaya ang nasa …

Imagine my new role: Reyna Elena, La Kapita de’l Barrio Siete, defender of Jejemon rights! Bwahaha!!! But don’t laugh now. In fact, I’ve been labeled as a Jejemon already.
Jejemons are called the new jologs, labeled as people of inferior mentality. If they are of inferior intellect, then how in the world were they able to invent and be creative with a brand new language of their own? And if you’re a jejemon hater, show your prowess of superior intellect by translating their language. Care for a challenge?

Like our reader …