Adobong Manak!

At least the guy tries. Makes me want to try Tinowlang Manak!

Who’s gonna run the NBN?

And we expect these guys to run the National Broadband Network? Jeez!

What’s in a name?

I received a text message this morning from fellow Vespa enthusiast Paco Magsaysay regarding an article he wrote which was published today in the Philippine Star. It’s a personal look at how it feels to share the same name with, in my humble opinion, the most progressive leader the country has ever had, President Ramon Magsaysay. By default, I am a Magsaysay. Of the many possible candidates to be grandson of President Ramon Magsaysay, it turned out to be me. What’s odd about that? To be perfectly candid about it, I did not give much thought or attach special meaning to my last name. Having spent most of my growing and academic years in the United States, it was often terribly mispronounced and people seemed unimpressed by it. And to me, it was just a name, a standard form of identification prescribed by society to write down and with which people refer or address me. Having it as a last name did not win me favors from teachers, attract more friends, get me out of a tight situation, or even date girls I liked in school. There were no special treatments, and definitely no warm handshakes and greetings from strangers. But my ordinary life took on an extraordinary turn upon my return to the Philippines in the early ’90s. The Magsaysay name, through my senator-father and by extension, to me, jolted me to realization as to its weight and impact to our history. This third generation Magsaysay, who had never met “The Guy”, learned to understand and appreciate after years of indifference, the value of his ancestry. I was given a gift so special, I take it with me wherever I go — my Lolo Monching’s name. I have always felt a pang of regret by the knowledge that I grew up without a doting grandfather. But in many ways, my Lola Luz, dad, mom, and aunt made up for his absence, as they did not run out of amazing stories about him from which I derive pleasure, inspiration and life-long lessons. A sense of pride overwhelms me when I read of his achievements, and an even greater sense of gratitude whenever strangers come up to me to share an important event in their lives that involved my lolo. Today we celebrate his 100th birth anniversary, yet the memories he had left us were so vivid and alive, I can actually picture him blowing the candles on his birthday cake. I am often tasked to represent my dad on...

Caloocan Police gets Php 250,000 bikes

I first heard of this news over the radio yesterday. The Caloocan police acquired 10 Motorcycle units for their police force to counter act the recent string of thefts involving motorcycle riders in tandem in their area. I thought well then good, maybe they do need to do that instead of passing stupid laws like the stupid helmet sticker law. Then I heard something at the end of the report regarding the cost of the units, something around the area of Php 250,000.00. Again I thought, wow such a big amount for a bike, but giving them the benefit of the doubt again since Caloocan is the bike capital of the city and this is not the first time I’ve heard of bikes that expensive being used for security (Bgy. San Antonio in Pasig purchased a handful of units of Honda CB 400’s for their security force a few years back and are still in use today). But this morning confirmed what I was dreading. Another news report on the local radio reported that after the turnover ceremonies yesterday, some of the bikes could not be used since there were defective parts (leaky gas tanks and various parts falling off the bike) on some units and some units refused to start. They again reported that these units were purchased for Php 249,000.00, a discussion ensued about what bike they bought, since at that amount you can get a really second hand big bike or a brand new scoot (in fact several scoots). The reporter mentioned something like “yung parang madami sa daan ngayon” (“the kind we most often see on the road today”), which undoubtedly means it was an underbone. Now I’m not familiar with underbone prices nowadays but can somebody please tell me if there are underbones that cost that much, and if there are, why do they have such build quality. It’s pretty obvious some people made money in this deal, not just small money, a huge chunk of money. Php 250,000.00 multiplied by 10 is Php 2.5 Million. For argument’s sake let’s put the price of their bikes at Php 50,000.00 and the total bill would be Php 500,000.00 for the entire fleet. Someone did make a killing of Php 2 Million. This is Php 2 Million of our money folks, our money, the money which we’ve worked hard for. The least they could have done was bought proper bikes for our poor...

Meron nang Pinay sa tuktok ng mundo!

photo from pinaysoneverest With these words, these three gallant Pinays, Janet Belarmino, Carina Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao reached the summit of the world’s tallest peak Mt. Everest (approx. 11:00 A.M. Manila Time). Congratulations!! Mabuhay ang Pinay at...