How much of the Philippines have you visited?

 

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Panahon mo ba to? =D

Ito ang mga huling taon ng dekada '80 at ang mga unang taon ng dekada '90. Ito ang panahong uso pa ang makiuso. Kung ginagaya mo ang style ng mga artista,hindi ka tatawaging jologs. Ito ang panahong tapos na ang martial law, pero malayo pa ang new millennium. Hindi pa high-tech pero 'di naman old fashioned. Saktong-sakto lang!

Ito ang panahon natin. Pero pa'no mo malalaman kung kabilang ka sa henerasyong ito? Narito ang listahan na makapagpapatunay if you're one of us.

1. Paborito mong panoorin ang Shaider, Bio-man, Maskman, Mask Rider Black, Machine Man at kung ano-anong TV sitcom ng Japan na isinalin sa Tagalog. Break muna sa mga laro kapag alas singko na ng hapon tuwing Sabado dahil panahon na para sa superhero marathon.

2. Alam mo ang jingle ng Nano-Nano. (Isang kendi na lasang champoy!).

3. Nanood ka ng Takeshi's Castle at naniwala kang si Anjo Yllana talaga si Takeshi at si Smokey Manaloto ang kanyang alalay. (Pinagiisipan mo - pa'no sila lumalaban sa final challenge na parang nakasakay sila sa isang bumpcar at nagbabarilan sila gamit ang water gun gayong sa Japan ginagawa yun eh taga-Pilipinas sila?)

4. Alam mo ang pa-contest ng Kool 106 na uulit-ulitin mong bigkasin ang "Kool 106, Kool 106", hanggang maubusan ka ng hininga.

5. Naglaro ka ng "Shake-Shake Shampoo", "Monkey-Monkey-Annabelle", "prikidam 123", "Langit-Lupa-Impyerno", "Datchbol" (Dodgeball), "Syato", "Luksong-Tinik", "Luksong-Baka", "10-20" at kung ano-ano pang larong nakakapagod.

6. Pumunta ang mga taga-MILO sa school niyo at namigay sila ng samples na nakalagay sa plastic cup na kasing laki nung sa maliit na ice cream. (At nagtaka
ka, bakit hindi ganito ang lasa ng MILO kapag tinitimpla ko sa bahay namin?)

7. May malaking away ang mga METAL (Mga punks na naka itim) at mga HIPHOP (Mga taong naka maluwang na puruntong na kahit makita na ang pwet.). Nag-aabangan sa mall na may dalang baseball bat at kung anu-ano pang mga sandata. Sikat ang kasabihang "PUNKS NOT DEAD!" pero kung gusto mong mag play safe, pwede mong tawagin ang sarili mong HIPTAL.

8. Alam mo ang universal uwian song na "Uwian na!" na kinakanta sa tono na parang doon sa kinakasal.

9. Nagpauto ka sa Batibot pero hindi sa ATBP.

10. Nakipag-away ka para makapaglaro ng Brick Game. (hi-tech na yun noon)

11. Ang "text" noon ay mga 1"x1.5" na karton na may mga drawing ng pelikulang pinoy. (at may dialog pa!)

12. Dalawa lang ang todong sumikat na wrestler, si "Hulk Hogan" at si "Ultimate Warrior". Naniwala ka rin na namatay si Ultimate Warrior nang buhatin niya si "Andre d' Giant" dahil pumutok ang mga ugat niya sa muscle.

13. Nagsayaw ka ng running man at kung anu-anong dance steps na nakapagpamukha sa'yong tanga sa saliw na kantang "Ice Ice Baby", "Wiggle It", "Pray" at "Can't Touch This."

14. Hindi ka gaanong mahilig sa "That's Entertainment" at pinapanood mo lang ito tuwing Sabado kung saan nagpapagandahan ng production numbers ang Monday hanggang Friday group. (At badtrip ka sa Wednesday group dahil pinaka-baduy lagi ang performance nila!)

15. Napaligaya ka ng maraming pinoy bands tulad ng Yano, Rivermaya, Grin Department, Tropical Depression, The Teeth, The Youth, After Image, Orient Pearl, The Dawn, Alamid, Wolfgang, at ang sikat na sikat na, Eraserheads. (At aminin mong nakinig ka ng Siakol!)

16. Kilala mo ang Smokey Mountain. (1st and 2nd generation)

17. Hindi pa uso noon ang sapatos na may gulong. Noon, astig ka kapag umiilaw ang swelas ng sapatos mo tuwing ia-apak mo ito. Tinawag rin itong "Mighty Kid"

18. Kung lalaki ka, sikat na sikat sa'yo ang mga larong text, jolens, dampa (mga unang anyo ng pustahan), saranggola at ang dakilang manika niyo ay si "G.I. JOE" with alipores.

19. Kung babae ka naman, ang mga laro mo with you're girlfriends ay luto-lutuan, bahay-bahayan, doktor-doktoran, at kung anu-ano pang pagkukunwari. Ang dakilang manika mo ay si Barbie. (Sikat ka kung meron kang bahay, kotse at kabaong ni Barbie.)

20. Naniwala kang original ang isang cap kapag may walo ang tahi sa visor nito.

21. Swerte ka kapag panghapon ka dahil masusubaybayan mo ang mga kapanapanabik na kaganapan sa mga paborito mong cartoon shows tuwing umaga tulad ng "Cedie", "Sarah, ang munting prinsesa", at "Dog of Flanders" a.k.a. "Nelo". (Hindi ka ba nagtataka na sa lahat ng mga bida sa cartoons na ito, si Nelo lang ang 'di yumaman at namatay pa ng maaga?)

22. Alam mo ang ibig sabihin ng "TIME FIRST!"

23. Alam mo din ang ibig sabihin ng "PERIOD NO ERASE!"

24. For girls: Malamang nag-away na kayo ng ibang friends mo dahil sa T.G.I.S. at G-Mik! (Jologs na kung jologs, pero totoo!)

25. Madalas kang bumili ng "Wonder Boy" sa iyong suking tindahan.

26. Nilalagyan mo ng Pritos ring ang bawat daliri mo at kakainin mong isa-isa.

27. Binabatukan mo ang mga kasama mo kapag nakakita ka ng kotseng kuba tapos magtataas ka ng peace sign.

28. At minsan, yung linyang "PERIOD NO ERASE" ay may dagdag pang "AKIN PADLOCK, AKIN SUSI" (Eh 'di sayo!)

29. Noon: For little girls, hindi ka "in" pag wla kang pencil case na maraming pindutan at maraming lalagyan ng lapis at kung ano ano pa...

30. Noon: For boys and girls, specially sa barkada, "Hook na hook" kayo sa "X-Men" at nagrorole play kayo at claiming na kayo si "Storm", o kaya si "Cyclops", etc.

31. Noon: Wala ka sa "Fashion" pag wala kang "Pop Swatch" (Your own personal wall clock at your wrist)

32. Kabisado mo ang 3:00 prayer dahil napapanood mo ito tuwing hapon, at kabisado mo din pati ung "We have just as one nation started the beautiful 3:00 habit...we hope that this becomes a daily habit with you..."

Bakit kaya ganon? Kahit saan lupalop ka ng Pilipinas naroon, eh nakaka-relate ka sa mga binanggit dito. Siguro'y dahil wala pang cable at kakaunti lang ang pagpi-piliang channels kaya parepareho tayo ng pinapanood. Maaaring wala pang playstation kaya kung anu-ano na lang ang naiimbentong laro na pwedeng gawin sa kalsada  o sa isang bakanteng lote. Pero kung ano man ang dahilan sa pagkaparepareho natin ng karanasan, masaya na rin akong naging bata ako sa panahong ito.

...Masarap alalahanin at balik-balikan. 'Di ba?

Makati Standoff

courtesy of Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Nov 29, 2007 (AFP) - The Philippine military is rushing around 1,500 troops to the capital Manila to crush a mutiny by rebel soldiers who have taken over a luxury hotel, a military spokesman said.

''We are preparing our forces to reinforce the National Capital Region command,'' said Major

Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman for the military's Southern Luzon command which controls units based south of Manila.

''We have also activated all our checkpoints to Manila to prevent third forces from taking advantage of the situation by conducting sabotage and terror activities,'' he added.

He said at least three battalions of infantry, or about 1,500 soldiers, were on their way to the Makati business district of Manila where around 30 armed soldiers were holed up in the Peninsula Hotel.

----------------

Manila Peninsula sealed off
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:37pm (Mla time) 11/29/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Police and military forces, backed by armor, have sealed off the area around the Manila Peninsula and the approaches to the hotel in Makati City as the standoff with a group of accused coup plotters, led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, continues.

Some 20 policemen have been deployed by the entrance to the hotel’s lobby while police lines have been set up near the gates to prevent people from entering.

The security forces are backed up by a number of armored personnel carriers, including two at the intersection of EDSA and Ayala Avenue and two more at the intersection of Ayala and Makati Avenues

--------------------

Hundreds of guests scramble to vacate Manila Peninsula
By Jim Gomez
Associated Press
Last updated 04:44pm (Mla time) 11/29/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Well-dressed guests were eating in ritzy restaurants at the Manila Peninsula hotel when dozens of uniformed soldiers burst in Thursday, took over the building and sent the patrons fleeing.

Talk about deja vu.

Four years after disgruntled troops, led by a charismatic young navy lieutenant, seized a Manila hotel in a daylong uprising, the same men walked out of their trial over the incident and barged into another hotel to again press their demands for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign.

Hundreds of guests were soon scrambling to vacate rooms as security forces surrounded the Peninsula in the rain.

"I lived here for four years, so I understand the way it is," said Tom Collins of Honolulu, who flew in for a wedding at the hotel. "It's just an inconvenience. I don't think this was handled well."

Coup plots are nothing new in the Philippines. In the years since democracy was restored in 1986, there have been some half dozen failed attempts by soldiers to seize power from democratically elected governments. Arroyo, who came to power in 2001 in the Philippines' second "people power" revolt, has faced down at least three efforts to unseat her.

Each time, confidence in the country's economy and its image as a stable democracy have been eroded.

"When they see something like this, people will not come here," said businessman Peter Randel, from Sydney, Australia. "My friends were coming but guess they won't come here any more."

The Peninsula management said 310 out of the 497 rooms were occupied before Thursday's drama began.

About 200 guests led the massive check-out, lining up in the reception area with hastily packed bags. Some carried their clothes in plastic bags.

With a huge Christmas tree standing in the lobby, two marble staircases were each guarded by a pair of armed mutineers. TV reporters and other journalists camped out in the corridors.

A Filipino couple about to get married and hold an evening reception at the hotel could hardly believe their bad luck.

"I am disappointed. Why does this have to happen today?" said groom Ryan Montano, a company executive.

His bride Mars was dressed in a wedding gown and held a bouquet of roses in her hand.

"I feel a little worried," she said, adding that the reception was moved to a nearby hotel. "I have had better days than this."

-------------------------------

US calls Arroyo to voice support
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 05:22pm (Mla time) 11/29/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The United States government has expressed support for the administration as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo offered assurances that the Makati standoff “will be swiftly and peacefully resolved.”

A statement from US Ambassador Kristie Kenney read by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye expressed the US’ “support for the rule of law, constitutional order and the Philippine government.”

Bunye also said Kenney had talked to Arroyo and was assured that “this incident will be swiftly and peacefully resolved by the police with the help of the military.”

Local government officials continue to arrive in Malacañang to show support for the administration.

----------------------------------

Trillanes agrees to leave hotel
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 05:32pm (Mla time) 11/29/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and his supporters agreed to leave the hotel where they staged a six-hour siege Thursday to demand the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Trillanes and his group reached this decision as government troops broke into hotel lobby with an armored personnel carrier.

Before this, tear gas was lobbed into the lobby as an armored personnel carrier fired bursts of machinegun fire towards the hotel, according to INQUIRER.net Joel Guinto.

Earlier, Trillanes berated the administration for its “ruthlessness.”

“Tingnan niyo yung ginagawa nitong administrasyon [Look at this administration], you have to witness their ruthlessness…they're even ready not to spare the lives of mediamen,” said Trillanes.

As the teargas filled the lobby, members of the Magdalo group herded journalists to the meeting room where civil society groups and Arroyo critics had gathered.

Reporters and the renegade soldiers made makeshift facemasks of the hotel tablecloths to protect themselves from the teargas.

The hotel corridors were a mess, with lamps and tables overturned during the commotion.

Operations to flush out the group of Trillanes from the Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati City have begun, Police Director Geary Barias of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said.

From the hotel, continuous shots could be heard, according to another Guinto and Alberto.

But a rebel soldier said these were just warning shots and was confident that the government troops won’t attack because the media was there.

“Our military operation has started; it’s ongoing,” Barias told reporters from his position outside the hotel.

He said Marines and Navy troops, as well as police commandos, have entered the hotel from the fountain area at the rear, along Ayala Avenue.

A Marines tank is headed for the fountain area of the hotel from the direction of the Landmark mall.

Three large ambulances and several smaller emergency vehicles have also arrived and are parked at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Just a few minutes ago, successive bursts of what sounded like gunfire were heard as government forces took up positions outside the hotel in preparation to serve a warrant of arrest on Trillanes and several officers being tried for plotting to toppled the government.

“We are ready to move. We will effect the warrant of arrest,” Barias said as he walked along the stretch of Makati Avenue, clapping his hands and shouting, “Let’s go, let’s go,” to several armored personnel carriers deployed on the intersection with Ayala Avenue.

Asked if they were entering the hotel, Barias replied: “Definitely.”

"We are ready to go at any time," Barias told reporters outside the hotel, where at least two armored personnel carriers had taken up position.

Earlier, police failed to serve the arrest warrant against Trillanes issued by Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati regional trial court.

Pimentel has found Trillanes guilty of contempt of court.

Trillanes said he would stay at the Manila Peninsula for “as long as necessary” after claiming that “nothing will happen” after the 3 p.m. deadline for their departure lapsed.

“What we did was not only our duty but our moral obligation,” said Trillanes said in justifying his latest act of defiance, adding, “It is our duty as religious individuals to do what is right.”

“Dumaan tayo sa tamang pamamaraan [We passed through the right processes]. Elected pero wala ring nangyari [We were elected but nothing happens]. They voted for me so that I can speak up for their rights and our advocacies,” said Trillanes, referring to his election as senator last May.

He has been barred from participating in the Senate sessions because of the criminal cases that had been filed against him.

Earlier in the day, Barias left the Manila Peninsula without talking to Trillanes despite setting the 3 p.m. deadline.

A rebel soldier in uniform said Barias was “causing too much trouble.”

Barias had ordered all guests to vacate the premises supposedly pending the results of negotiations between the government and Trillanes.

“I am asking all guests of the hotel to leave so that we can do our jobs,” Barias said in a live interview earlier in the day.

Barias issued the order as Trillanes and his comrades faced arrest after laying siege on the hotel.

But Barias said they would try to negotiate with the Trillanes camp.

Mariano Garchitorena, head of the Public Relations office of the Manila Peninsula, described the situation at the hotel as “calm” and said that if the order of the authorities was to vacate, they would follow it “like good citizens.”

Garchitorena said they had around 400 guests but that he didn't know how many had left before the pro-Trillanes forces blocked the exits.

Trillanes and other officers accused of leading the July 2003 rebellion walked out of their trial Thursday and marched through the streets of Makati calling for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

As of posting time, Trillanes and his comrades are at the Manila Peninsula where they are scheduled to hold a press conference.

The soldiers, numbering around 30, were accompanied by armed guards as they broke down a door of the hotel, overwhelmed security guards and read out a statement against Arroyo with a full list of their demands.

Heavily-armed government troops quickly surrounded the hotel in Manila's Makati financial district -- the same location of a failed 2003 coup against Arroyo allegedly led by many of the same soldiers.

The renegades urged Arroyo to resign and called on the military, a central power in this vast Southeast Asian island nation with the power to make and break its leaders, to turn against her.

People were going in and out of the Peninsula Hotel freely but a guest said he had been stopped by men with machine guns from going up to the second floor, where Brigadier General Danilo Lim, a co-accused, and others were said to be planning their next move.

The surprise events appeared to have been well orchestrated.

A detailed website immediately appeared on the Internet, announcing Lim and Trillanes as the leaders of the uprising. The site called on the Filipino people to mass in the financial district.

All the soldiers were sporting red armbands with what appeared to be the letter "I" emblazoned in the middle of a white sun.

The walkout began shortly after the trial resumed after a brief recess. Lim, who himself is detained and facing coup d’etat charges following an alleged failed coup attempt in February 2006, was pulled away by several soldiers from the witness stand.

Trillanes and Lim said they were calling on the Filipinos to withdraw support from the government because the President has corrupted its institutions.

“We are joining the people… because the President continues to violate the Constitution of the Philippines repeatedly,” Lim told DZMM’s Teleradyo program, adding they were “calling for the removal of an illegitimate President.”

Trillanes, Lim and the other accused soldiers were joined by civilians, including a group of militant farmers and opposition figures led by former vice president Teofisto Guingona.

It was not clear if the prisoners’ guards had joined the protest, but they marched along with the accused.

Reports culled by INQUIRER.net reporters and staff said police have barricaded the streets leading to Ayala Avenue and that two military trucks had crossed Paseo de Roxas.

Four Army trucks and anti-riot police have barricaded the hotel, according to reports.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño said Trillanes and Lim spoke rightly.

“This government does not deserve the support of the armed forces and the people. We express solidarity with their cause and likewise call on President Arroyo to heed the people's clamor,” he said.

Leah Navarro, a convenor of the civil society group, Black and White Movement, said she was shocked when radio reports said that her group was part of the protest march although she added that they would assess the situation.

“I am shocked. I have nothing to do with it. In fact I am in Southwoods, Alabang in a golf tournament playing golf since 8 a.m. and which will be finished at 3 p.m.,” Navarro told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.

But Navarro also said that former social welfare secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman will be going to Makati “to see what’s going on.”

“We have to assess the situation. Our main concern is that those marching are safe. We don’t want violence here. We know that this thing is spontaneous,” Navarro said.

There have been at least seven coup attempts in the Philippines since 1986 as the armed forces have maintained a central role in the nation's political life since the ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos that year.

But Arroyo has been under particular pressure since a tape recording emerged of her allegedly conniving with an election commission official to help orchestrate her 2004 re-election.

She admitted it was a mistake to have called the official while the vote count had not yet been finished, but denied any wrongdoing.

Since then she has fought off impeachment attempts -- while being regularly accused of having improperly won the election -- as well as actual and alleged coups.

Thursday's dramatic events came just a month after Arroyo gave her predecessor and nemesis, popular ex-film star Joseph Estrada, a presidential pardon on charges of corruption.

The government said the pardon was granted after the 70-year-old Estrada agreed not to pursue any elective office.

He has always insisted his 2001 ouster from the presidential palace was a coup organized by the military, the powerful Catholic Church and the country's political elites.

With reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Inquirer; Maila Ager, Jessie Delima, Cathy Miranda, Veronica Uy, Alex Villafania, Joel Guinto, INQUIRER.net; Agence France-Presse; Reuters; Originally posted at 11:16am

courtesy of  INQUIRER.net.

 

Outing in Boracay

October 29-31, 2007

That Mysterious Thing Called LOVE

THAT MYSTERIOUS THING CALLED LOVE
   
   If you find yourself in love
   With someone who doesn't love you back,
   Be gentle with yourself.
   There's nothing wrong with you
   Love didn't choose to rest with the other person's
   heart.
   
   If you find someone else in love with you
   And you don't love him
   feel honored that love came
   But gently refuse the gift you cannot return.
   Do not take advantage, do not cause pain.
   
   How you deal with love
   is how you deal with yourself.
   All of our hearts feel the same joys & pain
   even if our lives & ways are different.
   
   When love chooses to leave,
   Do not reclaim it, let it go.
   There is a reason & a meaning.
   In time, you will know.
   
   Remember that you don't choose love,
   Love chooses you.
   All you can do is accept it
   For all its mystery is part of its magic.
   
   Love has its own time, its own season
   And its own reason for coming & going
   You cannot bribe it, or coerce it or reason with it.
   You can only embrace it when it arrives
   And give it away when it comes to you.
   But if it chooses to leave from your heart
   Or from the heart of your lover,
   There is nothing you can do
   And there is nothing you should do.
   
   Love has always been & always will be a mystery.
   Be glad that it has come to live for a moment in your life.

Prince Shin Story_Goong.AVI

Tank - (Zhuan Shu Tian Shi) MV Ft. Ella and Wu Zun.WMV

Ilocos Tripping

Bday Outing