Be Wary of Texting and Calling Taxi Drivers

(Photo source)

I just read an article on a newspaper today that get me really disturbed. So disturbed in fact that I just had to make a post about it.

The Philippine Star, a national daily, ran a a story about a Filipino-American, a Harvard law student at that, who got robbed in the taxi he was riding from the airport by the taxi driver no less. It was his first trip here in the Philippines and I'm really sad that it had to happen then. I bet my first thousand dollars on Sponsored Reviews.com( if I ever get to earn that much) that he will think a thousand times before he makes a second trip here.

From that article, I made the following tips for would be travelers, especially those hailing a taxi from the airport:

1. Ride in airport-affiliated taxis only, more so if your all by your lonesome. It might be more expensive but in the long run its definitely worth it;

2. Keenly observe the taxi driver for any suspicious behaviour (e.g. surreptious glances in the rear view mirror) most especially if he starts calling and texting (this is what happened to the hapless Fil-Am of this post), once this happens think fast on how to get off the taxi or at least call someone for help;

3. Have the security guard at the airport take down the license plate, taxi number and ID of the driver, if the cabbie refuses to give his ID, be wary and don't ride his cab (better safe then sorry);

4. Ride only those cabs with the drivers' identification prominently displayed on the front; and

5. Finally, to be truly safe, have someone pick you up at the airport.

Stories like this truly make me sad for it drives away people who would have come to see our beautiful country if not for this bad lemons in our basically friendly basket of hospitable people. I do hope the authorities catch these bandits masquerading as cabbies.

Pay for Blogging?!

Some genius bureaucrat has cooked this "wonderful" idea of charging certain fees for anyone who posts "content" on the Internet. What does this mean? Simple, bloggers will now have to pay a certain amount in order to continue posting. I just hope that this is a bonafide way to generate revenue and not some thinly-disguised ploy at censorship on the world wide web. As for this blogger, it could mean the possibility of closing up soon. Generating some of the posts here in "adventures of waray in the city" already entails some cost which I never recover as this site does not earn ad revenue. To pay fees on top of it all would be too much down the end of a cost-benefit ratio in maintaining this blog. That would really be sad as this blog and its readers has become very much a part of my life. Anyway, let's await and see further developments. News on blogging community has it that today is the start of a series of public hearings at the National Telecommunications Office (the Philippine regulatory body on all wireless communication and information technology) on this proposal.

The "Bees" Beat Them All in the Sinulog

Tribu Buyugan of Abuyog, Leyte with its story of "bees" and their conversion to the "faith of the Holy Child" bagged the grand prize in the free interpretation category of the recent Sinulog Festival of Cebu City.

Apart from getting the judges' nod for their interpretation and choreogrpahy, Tribu Buyugan got the crowd all revved up and won third prize in the street dancing category.

Personally, I have witnessed them perform in the local Leyte Pintados Kasadyaan Festival and I do agree with the judges' choice, their the best and one of the mostest dance contingent in the country.

(Source: Leyte-Samar Daily Express, January 20, 2009)

An Afro-American in the White House

Decades ago, if I told you someone of African descent would become President of the United States, you would have laughed me off and dismissed my thoughts as pure fantasy incapable of becoming reality in the midst of the then socio-political realities. But now, I daresay AMERICA, you have come a long way from the days of segregated schools and buses as today history is being made. Hours from now as I write, Barack Obama, President-elect would become Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America with his inauguration at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

A truly eloquent man, history will now judge you just as you made history and the whole world watches with bated breath to see if the words indeed truly fit the man and the speeches is but a peek into the action that is to come. Translated: Can he deliver the goods and lift America and with it the world from the worst economic crisis in years?

Rumble in the Golf Course

After the pepper spray incident at the Embassy at the Fort in Taguig City, now this, a brawl over golf etiquette, rules, etc. in the enclave and gaming grounds of the rich and famous. I have never played golf and thus, am clueless of whatever rules that must be followed but one thing seems to be clear about all this brouhaha involving a high-ranking government official, the gentlemen's sport is not all played by gentlemen. Actually, before I read about this incident I never associated the word "flights" outside that of airplanes, airports and the clear blue sky and in my driving and commuting world "overtaking" is the norm and does not require prior consent. In the golfing world, it is quite different and driving your golf clubs on a tee without shouting "fore" and "overtaking" a prior "flight" can lead to violent consequences as the dela Paz vs. Pangandaman family saga has shown.

Here's the side of the family who alleged being beat up by the family of the cabinet secretary. To get that of the government functionary, visit the phlippine daily inquirer web site.

As of date, talks of an amicable settlement are floating. Tsk,tsk, tsk...This is what happens when tempers flare and all that power goes into your head.

December Weddings

Apart from June, December has always been a favorite month for weddings here in the Philippines. It is most practical as it is the time of the year when most Filipinos come home for the longest Christmas season celebrated in the whole world and the future bride and groom are most assured that most of their loved ones from all over would be present to witness this memorable event in their lives.

Truly well-planned weddings would not be complete without hiring a professional photographer to cover and immortalize this, hopefully, once in a lifetime milestone. Here in Leyte, we have at par, if not better wedding lensmen who capture your wedding moments with an artistic eye and an instinct of the perfect shot.

Too bad I discovered this after my own wedding, for I would have loved having my wedding portrait done as beautifully as this:


(Photo courtesy of D. Martinez)