By Kathrina Alvarez
Sunstar Manila
A MILITANT lawmaker on Wednesday raised questions of “conflict of interest” for newly-appointed Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, saying his family would benefit on the billion-dollar Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line-7 project.
“A clear conflict of interest exists in President Benigno Aquino III’s appointment of Roxas to the DOTC,” Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano said.
Roxas is a scion of the Araneta clan and the MRT-7 railways will be built on Araneta property, he added.
Mariano was referring to the DOTC’s $1.235-billion MRT-7 that will run from …

LOCAL Water Utilities Administration chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. was suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday over the acquisition of a controlling stake in a thrift bank in 2009.
Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro ruled there was enough evidence that Pichay, a former congressman from Surigao del Sur, committed the administrative offense of grave misconduct.
“We have now determined that it is very likely that there would be a manipulation of evidence through intimidation of witnesses or tampering with records,’’ Casimiro said.
On Friday, President Benigno Aquino III also suspended three LWUA …

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom Angelo Reyes helped catapult to Malacañang in 2001, on Tuesday urged Filipinos to recognize Reyes’ “patriotic” service as a soldier and government official.
“He served the country well in uniform and in the halls of government, particularly in a critical moment in our history when our people called for radical reform of governance,” Mrs. Arroyo said in a statement issued through her spokesperson, Maria Elena Bautista-Horn.
Mrs. Arroyo said she was saddened by Reyes’ “tragic” death. She praised him for his “courage and …

By: Merdeka Pravda
An hour after the ICU doctor saw me, my mind started to clear. Slowly. My husband was called in. I wouldn’t be able to fully describe the look on his face. There was relief. There was gratefulness. There was marvel. There was happiness. There was love. I saw it, and at that moment, I knew things were going to be ok.
I fell asleep again shortly and I was woken up, a few hours later by many voices. Three …

Indeed, big things comes in small packages!
Check out Jackie Evancho’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ performance HERE where she stunned the crowd, won her a standing ovation and got the stamp of approval from the judges.
Best of luck to this 10-year-old kid. I’m looking forward to see your star shine ala-Susan Boyle in the future!
Cheers,

Photo Credit: Jackie Evancho Website
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(Photo Credits: FB Wall of friends)
Wang-wang mentality
Wang-wang mentality is really an abuse of power and privilege. It’s bloody annoying to read comments saying that this wang-wang policy is too tiny mini-mayni-mo of a problem to even deserve presidential attention. Naknampooka oo! Translated into common Pinoy language: “Los Indios, lumayas kayo sa kalsada! Wala kayong karapatan ni anuman dahil dadaan kami”. Only the wannabes cannot understand how symbolically big this bloody wang-wang culture is. Worse, government officials are rabidly guilty of these as well as the rich and notoriously wannabe …

I noticed a slew of anti-Chiz Escudero FB pages that sprouted. In fact, I “liked” the one page that was sent to me.
Please do not interpret my “liking” the page literally. This is a free society. People are just expressing their thoughts about Chiz actions. I do not hate Chiz Escudero. I was just interested what people say about him.
What I found interesting is that, it’s a combination of different colors. Why are Gibo fans angry at him?
As you may recall, Chiz suddenly campaigned for a Noy-Binay tandem. It …

From: Huffington Post
With his penchant for badly fitting shirts, dorky hair style, and complete lack of personal charisma, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino appears the most unlikely person to win an election by a landslide. But with most of the votes counted, Mr Vanilla of Manila has galloped into Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines.
There were nine presidential contenders in this week’s general election and Noynoy seized close to 40% of the vote. In a country with over 7000 far flung islands, the call usually takes days, …

As expected, the influence of certain bloggers can now be denied.
Despite all the bashing and scandals unleashed online against candidates such as Herbert Bautista and Noynoy Aquino, including an online hate campaign unleashed against Reyna Elena for supporting Noynoy Aquino, these hate bloggers essentially were spurned by the electorate.
This leads us to this question: Are online and offline hate campaigns effective?
I say, no.
The conventional thinking will probably still be around for a while. What bloggers refuse to understand is that, a clear majority of our population is still impoverished, …

“Around this time, you probably have already selected your presidential and vice-presidential bets. We are now down to the wire folks! This should be the last survey three days before you troop to the polling station and mark that magic oval representing your choice. Here’s BusinessWorld Online with the last(?) survey.~Reyna Elena
From: BusinessWorld Online
Gap now 22 points; Estrada overtakes Villar
WITH THE MAY 10 elections just around the corner, Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III has picked up steam to widen his lead in the presidential race, results of the …

By Raissa Robles
Ok, I couldn’t resist this scoop as a journalist.
But I’ve hesitated to write this for days because I did not want to be labeled a Noynoy supporter.
It pains me as a foreign correspondent, who has been trying to keep an open and dispassionate mind about the presidential candidates, to be branded as rooting for this one or that one.
But I realize, also as a journalist and Filipino citizen, that I do have the responsibility to disclose the truth no matter who benefits or gets hurt.
Ever since I …

You know what they say, that some form of calculated display of temper is a form of political instrument. So, when I read the news that Richard Gordon went ballistic during an interview with Karen Davila, I figured, Gordon must simply be just demonstrating his brand of leadership here, or maybe he is badly needing a Dale Carnegie book.
In my mind, when you enter politics, especially running for office, you and your message is your product. That product goes to the market and hope for the sky that customers buy …

Remember the expose of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in 2007 about the secret bank account of the Arroyos in HypoVereins Bank? Yan ang bagong chika mga kabarrio. Ang lolo nyo daw eh baka mega-plantsa kung ano ang kelangang gawin sa mga kaperahan sa Germany.
Pero wait, we actually don’t know! Dahil, baka nga this has to do also sa partnership nang Fraport AG sa Piatco when they built the $350 million Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Eto nga ba ang dahilan?
Whatever the drama behind this midnight appointment of …

“Posibleng tatlong kandidato na lang sa panguluhan ang pagpilian ng mga botante pagsapit ng halalan sa Mayo 10 kapag natuloy ang babala ng Commission ng Elections laban sa anim na iba pang kandidato dahil sa paglabag umano sa patakaran sa campaign material.“

Consider that scenario. Who will you vote?!
Ayon kay Atty. James Jimenez, tagapagsalita ang Comelec, nakapagdokumento ang
Education and Information Department (EID) ng ahensiya tungkol sa ginagawang paglabag ng mga kandidato sa patakaraan sa paggamit ng mga campaign propaganda sa halalan.
Ang mga presidentiables na nadokumentuhan na lumalabas sa campaign rules ay …

There was an interesting story that run on the New York times a few days ago that was not palatable to the presidential front-runner in Noynoy Aquino. The story has it that his cousin was misquoted by the New York Times. Accordingly, it quoted a Cojuangco family member as saying that the clan will not let go of the 4,500-hectare plantation – a claim that runs contrary to the campaign promise of presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (Liberal Party). Meanwhile, the New York Times, stood by the story …

Esperanza Cabral. Ondoy. Ella Ganda. Those are what we know about the name Esperanza Cabral once the name is mentioned. And this just happened recently, although we in the blogging world are pretty much waiting for the outcome of Cabral’s lawsuit against Ella. I honestly have got no clue anymore, as far as any new developments, if any, about the case. But apparently, the Secretary is involved in another fight. A fight that I personally agree and support.
Here’s a letter to the Inquirer:
HURRAH for Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral! I thought …

I’ve worked in the public housing industry in the United States for many years, overseeing housing investment tax credits and low income housing programs, which is why I would love to see a similar type of program be introduced in the Philippines, if there isn’t any in place. I’ve searched some government websites but I could not seem to find any information about affordable housing programs in the Philippines, I guess affordable housing programs are still called “squatters”. But even that is no longer affordable. You get evicted anytime. Popular …

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 …

By: HON. WALDEN F. BELLO, Representative, AKBAYAN Party-List
COMELEC failed to learn the lessons from the Ampatuan massacre and the country must now brace for what could be the one of its bloodiest elections.
This was the assertion of Akbayan party-list representative Walden Bello regarding the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to exempt the Civilian Active Auxiliaries (CAA) from the total gun ban.
The Ampatuan massacre is the biggest case against this decision. Now the whole country must brace for what could be the bloodiest elections in Philippine history,” …

Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe was photographed recently looking like this.

Is that supposed to be the ‘IN’ look or is she suffering from an eating disorder?
To prove to you that it’s not just a photograph with bad angle, see her in these photos.

For your information, Rachel Zoe is one of the most influential personalities in the world of fashion. Her clientele include A-list celebrities like Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, Debra Messing, Kate Beckinsale, Joy Bryant and more. She also has a reality show called “The Rachel Zoe Project”.
In Hollywood, being thin …

Hello mga friendship! Kamusta na kayo? Well, if you ask me, okay lang ako at in-love. Charoooot!
Because of the good feedback we received from our first response to some of our Barrio Siete letter senders seeking for advice, we are once again opening our mailbox para matugunan ang iilang problema ng ating mga ka-barrio na nangangailangan ng payo.
This time, hindi lang si Ate Charing ang magbibigay ng payo, we have a guest ‘counselor’ to help us in solving these mind-boggling dilemmas. It’s none other than our resident critic/diva/mental patient extraordinaire …

Photo Credits: Ellen Tordesillas
Many of us were OUTRAGED when we learned na ang drama pala talaga ni Gloria, tatakbo rin pala. And it is already a given that she will win Pampanga pretty easily and her return to Congress will just be that easy.
But really, the goal here is to push for Charter change (Cha-cha)—and possibly bring about a shift to a parliamentary government, where she could bag the post of prime minister.
One blogger has an answer.

If you do not want to see GMA as your next Prime Minister, …

Photo Credits: Ewan
Are you enjoying this election campaign?! Grabeng awayan! Personalan na sya! Hahaha! Sometimes nga, I have no more clue what to blog because I would then follow kung ano ang rebuttal nang other side. Mas maganda sya to follow instead of the 2012.
By the book di ba dapat journalists are supposed to be fair to humankind, bring peace and goodwill to all men and women. Ok. A lot of times, puro horror and dala nila. Pag politics na kasi, they are already using the newspaper as their …

The Bayanihan for Ondoy Victims Fund Drive started with one email telling everybody in Barrio Siete that a strong typhoon is slapping our country silly. Most of our writers tuned into different websites and video channels. Our hearts were torn apart, our tears flowed as our fellow Filipinos feared for their safety and lives.

More to come… but for now, let me finish my compliance and reporting to all of you…
Ladies & Gentlemen, your boring Accountant is back with my 3rd and Final Report. I’d like to thank mon ami Joey …

Nearing our 10-day mourning period in honor of Tita Cory, Barrio Siete Dot Com is very happy to have given full blog coverage to one historic event that just recently transpired, the passing of our one and only Tita Cory. It’s our small contribution in honor of President Cory Aquino and Senator Benigno Aquino. But that very small contribution, surprisingly, has given us, Barrio Siete Dot Com, an unexpectedly back-to-back media coverage beyond our expectations. Trulalang ningning ever and if you think about it, wala pa tayong 3 months …