Author: Unknown
(This is a re-post from FB Updates of a friend)
The known facts are these:
On August 19, 2005, Emmanuel “Bong” Madrigal, a Manila-based Filipino executive of the multinational Shell, was visiting Beijing on vacation with his wife Vivian, his daugher Regina Mia, and two younger daughters. That day, they rode a tourist bus to Tiananmen Square, the heart of the capitol. Upon arriving at the square, Emmanuel Madrigal was the first to descend from the bus, followed by Vivian and Regina Mia. A Chinese man wielding a scythe–in some reports …

(Photo Credits: Inquirer)
Pansin nyo? Kahit ako sa Amerika nakita ko.
Feeling guilty kaya si Renato Corona?
Pano naman kase, at the rate Corona is appearing on too may live interviews, I suspect, he will soon be appearing sa Ellen deGeneres and Oprah Winfrey Show.
Corona’s term will be 8 years. Lagpas sa term ni Noynoy na 6 years. Ang problema kasi, lumalabas na magiging Arroyo Court ang Supreme Court. Napipikon na daw sya. Iisa lang naman ang solusyon dun, he could have declined the appointment at hinayaan na lang si Noynoy Aquino ang …

Matatandaan na nagkaron nang pa-binggo sa PICC in Pasay City noong election day. Me tambiolo, me bolang puti at me numero. Ano pa tawag nyo dun kundi, binggo.
Maliwanag ang anuncio nang Comelec ukol sa mga pamumukol about poll fraud, sama na mga fashion statement na me maskara at bola bola sa muka. Ang resulta nang Random Manual Audit (RMA) nila ay nag-papatunay na – – – – – walang himala!
“We did not see something that will really shock us… overall it looks like the counts of the PCOS machines …

She’s only been queen for a day but the new Miss USA is already feeling the heat from the media spotlight.
On Sunday, Michigan’s Rima Fakih became the first Arab American to win the beauty pageant.
Now TMZ is out with pictures of Fakih winning a very different competition.
The website says there are pictures of the beauty queen back in 2007, clinching the “Stripper 101″ pole dancing competition for a radio station.
Fakih reportedly won jewelry, gift cards, adult toys and a stripper pole.
Source: MyFoxBoston.com
Oh my gulay, I am having a shock of …

It’s interesting to note that 10 years ago, May 4, 2000 to be exact, the “I love you” virus would spread across the world causing billions of US dollars in damages shutting down the network systems of even the Pentagon, CIA and the British Parliament.
Will history repeat itself?!
I’m not reporting any “I love you” virus or am I planting some Halloween conjectures for after all, it’s Comelec, who started blasting us with the specter of No Elections. I just find this loving history interesting given that the notoriety …

(Photo Credits: Inquirer)
Basically, you can say that our jurassic election system using the legacy dag-dag bawas software version negative one, is getting a much needed upgrade. And how’s the conversion working?
Well, now it can be told officially. The tests produced weird results blares the headline on the Inquirer.
It seems like the votes were being transposed from “Si, Senor” to “Opo, Ma’am“! What do you say? Smartmatic turned into Rosetta Stone!
If that’s not enough, let’s postpone the election! ~!@#$%^!!! As in NO ELECTIONS?! As in ELECTION FAILURE?! What gives …

Have you been reading the news about the Greek debt crisis?
Well, the Greek government has announced an austerity program. (Oh! I remember that word during Marcos years!) Greece froze pensions, cut salary of government employees and increased taxes in order to meet its financial obligations. Sounds like some of us financially handicapped Pinoys di ba? We all have our own austerity programs to save for future Meralco billings.
Now, how in the world did Greece came into such a financial quagmire, you’d ask. Well, pretty much like Iceland in a …

Filipino pageant fanatics from the four corners of the globe are now asking more questions to the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) regarding the dethronement of Bb. Pilipinas – Universe 2010 Maria Venus Raj last March 29. Raj’s loyal fans even setup an online petition on Facebook so that the BPCI will know how Filipinos are reacting over Raj’s disqualification. The dethroned beauty queen was supposed to represent the country in the 2010 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant this coming May but BPCI stripped off Raj’s crown and title as the beauty …

(Image from Newsweek)
During the term of Richard Gordon as mayor of Olongapo City, there were at least 26 cases of “salvagings” or summary executions that victimized at least 28 people. The killings were believed to have been made to cleanse the city of undesirable elements and maintain its allure as the center for the R & R of US servicemen.
Olongapo officials dismissed such as “isolated incidents involving hardened criminals whose death were mainly due to gang rivalry”, it is a matter of public record that the victims were mostly …

Here they come again. I knew what I’m about to take when I decided to write personal experiences about my life in Olongapo, or at least parts of it. Heat. I’m about to take some unnecessary heat.
Of all the searches online regarding the 2010 presidentiables, presidential wannabe Richard Gordon had the most positive posts online, according to ABS-CBN reports published March 18.
They were right. In fact if you try to do a search, all you see are links to his bio and how great and wonderful the man is. Except …

I’ve eaten twice in this resto before, and I don’t know what happened along the way. It’s rare that i RANT, but when I do, my Kamote Award for Worst Service and Sanitation by a restaurant chain goes to ….. Tempura Japanese Grill.
How else do you explain being an office worker on a one-hour lunch break, and 35 minutes later, your order still hasn’t arrived? We ate at their United Nations Avenue branch, and I had to beg for a glass of water just to quench my thirst while waiting. …

This post is dedicated to the men, women and gays who are constantly attacking my other balay, Barrio Siete.

You inspire me to make this very timely tribute.
Within the next few days, I will be celebrating my 3rd anniversary since I created this humble blog and I thank you for your continued patronage. Without you my dear readers, I would be nothing and my colleagues in Barrio Siete especially La Kapitana wouldn’t have noticed me. I have learned a lot from blogging but the most important experiences I have had so …

Mainit ang labanan sa Gordon Avenue, kaya as it is usual in the Barrio, break muna tayo.

I am brittle and vulnerable too.

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(Photo Credits: Here)
Whenever I read the word “bogus”, even if I read it in a Moscow newspaper, I still think that behind that word is a Filipino. Before you slap and kiss me, that’s not an exclusive statement. I heard there are Nigerians too! Like 419? Remember that?! haha!!
You see, I don’t know why I seem to attach that word to Pinoys. I guess, maybe because of so many bogus crap that we get to be bombarded everyday of our lives. (In blogging they’re called “trolls”.) Notorious of which …

When the City of Olongapo is mentioned, the first things that would come to mind are two: the entertainment bars lining its streets and the name Gordon.
While the roots of existence of the former are well-traced, the existence and the reason why the latter became a household name is not much talked about. Who really are the Gordons? How did they come into power? And how for several decades, did a single family dominate the entire political landscape of the city?
The Early Gordon
Though nobody from the local opposition could prove …

Gawd! I remember Manny’s fight with Oscar de la Hoya! Nag-no-nobena ako na wag masira ang cute na muka nya (Oscar)!
I’m not really into boxing, but if it’s Manny Pacquiao, my face is plastered on the TV screen. But last night with Clottey? Unbelievably – one of the most annoying moments in TV boxing history.
Of course before the boxing event, the media bombarded us with screaming headlines like Joshua Clottey? Bigger, taller and has the edge!!
Wrong!
The media was just playing on all of us to make it appear that …

If Noynoy has Kris, I’ve got Pacquiao, Villar says

Nauna nang sinabi ni Kris na once Noynoy wins, mag-a-abroad na lang daw sya at pipiliin nyang maging Overseas Filipino Worker. Bongga ang political campaign ni Noynoy Aquino sa Zamboanga. Pinili daw nila to start in Zamboanga given na merong spiritual konek ang city na to sa family nila and this was where Noynoy Aquino decided to run as President. Dinumog si Kris Aquino sa Zamboanga Airport pa lang while husband James was already in the city bago sa sila dumating kaya …

Click here for Part 1
Click here for Part 2
“Ganito pala sa Olongapo, parang war zone,”. This was the surprised remark from one of the media personnel from GMA-7 who witnessed what happened that fateful day in November 1996.
All the action were going on inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) where the APEC forum was being held, so it only makes sense for all the media, local and international, to be there.
Fortunately for us, some GMA-7 staff, particularly Luchi Cruz Valdez (from The Probe Team fame) and a cameraman decided …

Click here for Part 1
In just a matter of minutes, after that quick anesthesia-less operation and humiliation inside the operating room, I was in a wheelchair being pushed by that UP volunteer all the way to the x-ray room and unto my assigned room, which was the orthopedic ward.
Weird. I don’t think I had any broken bone or whatever that needed me to be confined to that section. Unless some doctor thought a broken skull would be enough to be categorized as orthopedic. I saw some empty rooms and wards …

Thinking of being a blogger? Touch political topics? Show your political color?
Be warned in the jungle. It’s Jurassic Park in Pinoy blogosphere, with dark characters roaming the grounds run by dark societies. I am by no means discouraging you to be a blogger, but consider my short movie presentation…
Reyna Elena has another stalker fan who follows me around. First, he blogged about my delicious affair with an emperor.

Angry with my presidential choice, he turned me into a pig. A freak one. How did I know? He was very nice to …

It was November 2006 1996. The APEC Summit was being held in Subic Bay, Philippines.
It was a time for the country to show off its newly established Subic Bay after the former bases were left by the Americans under piles of ashes brought by the Pinatubo eruption. It was also the time for then President Fidel Ramos to showcase his Medium Term Philippine Development Plan. It was Ramos’ Philippines 2000. It was globalization. It was Olongapo.
Like most people in the progressive left, I was against it. I believe that if …

In my Barrio, hindi lang saklaan meron kami, movie house too. Betamaks nga lang sya. And back during my days in da Barrio, when I was still small, very very small, most of what I see in the movies, after selling one lata of kamote, are that the rich are mostly evil. Mga impakta sila. And typically, the rich are the politicians. In fact, I now remember, in every movie, if there is a Gobernador o kaya Meyor, almost always, he’s a murderer, a manipulative power-hungry animal out to do …

Photo Credits: Manila Standard
I was a fan of Dick Gordon, the man who they called The Flash. He was full of idealism and a natural leader. I would love to be seated next to him. I would love to catch the same breath of air that passes through his sense of national pride.
I first saw him on TV after the tragic 1990 major Luzon earthquake. He was there saving lives in the cities of Baguio and Cabanatuan. Those cities were the hardest hit with several collapsed buildings and hotels. He …

Hello mga friendship! Break muna tayo sa pulitika at medyo nag-iinit na ang discussion. Let’s talk about love. I know, medyo huli na nga itong pag-usapan dahil tapos na ang Valentine’s Day but as the saying goes, “Everyday should be Valentine’s Day”. Or was it Christmas? Charing!
Anyway, my friend Dave received a forwarded email from someone and he posted it on his blog. Medyo natuwa naman ako sa naturang blog entry kaya hinarbat ko na ito at nang maipakita ko naman sa inyo mga ka-baro, este, ka-barrio. During this time …

Here’s an interesting piece of story that I read on the Inquirer.
It’s a question as to who is the political butterfly between Mar Roxas and Loren Legarda. How did this verbal butterfly fight came about?
Well, according to the story, Liberal Party director general Chito Gascon called Senator Loren Legarda a “political butterfly” because he said, she jumps from one party to another for political gains.
“Look who’s talking!” according to NPC spokesman Rex Gatchalian who said that it is Mar Roxas who is the “political butterfly”. Is he not a …