Ukay Republic

A sure sign of the difficult times is the increasing number of ukay-ukay shops sprouting all over the city. Right down along Rizal Avenue, just beside Everwell Drugstore, is a collection of second hand clothes shops that peddles everything from hats down to (would you believe?) underwear!!!

Seriously, there are actually treasures to find such as slightly used branded t-shirts , polos, curtains, bedsheets that look good as new. You just have to be armed with patience, perseverance and, the most important, terrific haggling skills. I, for one, have not mastered the art yet. I do wear my shopping heart on my sleeve and I can't help but show my eagerness when I've had a terrific find (a bargaining no no). One must know how to keep on a poker face and keep the shop owner guessing as to whether or not you have decided on an item. It helps if you walk away at the first price quotation, more often than a reduction thereof would necessarily follow. Of course, they do have to earn their keep, so know when to stop haggling. Remember they are in it for the business and not for charity.

Nonetheless, for the not so fortunate who could only dream of Ralph Lauren, here is the chance to have his clothes at a fraction of the cost, if you don't mind the thought that it has actually touched the skin of someone else and has drowned in his sweat (hehehe). But for the more picky and sensitive bargain hunter, its not only clothes that this shopping haven for the financially conscious has to offer, they also have bags and shoes. If your one resourceful broad (or chap) take the time cause you just might find a Bally in there or even a Gucci with nary a scratch mark and no one's the wiser that it came from ukay republic. A friend, after having sworn me to secrecy on our doggies' grave (hehe), confessed that the long sleeve polos I've always admired her wearing are finds from segunda mano stores. Well, I''l be darned. Who would have thought that my fashion savvy friend sourced her threads this way? As she would say, nasa "carry" yan. I have but to agree, ukay or not, a fashionista will always be a fashionista even in these hardest of times.

When A Mall Becomes a Tourist Attraction

Robinsons Place Tacloban, located at Tabuan, Marasbaras, Tacloban City, opened its doors to the public last June 11, 2009. To say that it was one monumental event for the city is an understatement. It eclipsed even the holding of the Palarong Pabansa held recently this year. A major traffic jam caused a slowdown of vehicles on the road approaching the mall and the people inside would put fish in the sardines to shame. It felt like one big fiesta as whole families from nearby towns came on jeeps chartered solely for the trip to the mall. Going to Robinsons was an excursion, a pleasure trip and to be "in" you just had to be there.

As for this blogger, it seemed like a trip down memory lane not too many years ago when I was just fresh from college and was job-a-hunting in Manila. Too while away the time, I spent many hours in between interviews at big malls there and the experience inside Robinsons was just de ja vu. However, unlike its counterparts in Manila, the Robinsons mall here still has many vacant stalls and stores. Perhaps some are taking the "wait-and-see" attitude before making that investment to open a branch or store. The few brave ones, though, judging from the constant ringing of their cash registers for the two days I visited, seems to have made the right decision to gamble on the buying power and habits of the people of Eastern Visayas. I just hope that their good luck continues and their sales does not peter out once the novelty of a new and first mall does. Some of these "brave ones" are: Shakeys Pizza, The Travel Club, Jollibee, GUESS, Levi's Store, National Bookstore, Tom's World, Kamiseta, Book Sale, Gustavio's, Pino Fine Dining, Children's Place and the home or organic stores of Robinsons like Handy Man and Robinsons Supermarket and Department Store.

I stayed for only an hour as the crowd was too much for my clautrophobic taste but I left knowing that now, more than public parks, families can enjoy bonding moments in the cool comforts of Robinsons mall.

Coming Very Soon..First True-blue Mall in Tacloban

Just three days more and Tacloban City, indeed the whole Eastern Visayas shall finally have its first honest-togoodness mall with the opening of Robinsons Place Tacloban on June 11, 2009. This has been a most awaited event in the city if not the whole region and malling is sure to become a family outing every weekends. For sure, this blogger will be there opening day to document everything for you and provide you with a first hand account...

Twilight - My Take

As is my usual reading habit, I read the "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer all through the night, stopping only when I had turned the last page, which was at about 4 a.m. the following day. The consequences were quite unhealthy. I woke up grumpy at 7 a.m. and got into an argument with my hubby who, (correctly, I admit) pointed out that my nocturnal reading lost me quality time with them (hubby and daughter) as I had to catch up on my sleep the whole afternoon. As if that was not quite a handful to deal with for a sleep-deprived person, I acquired a slight fever later in the day. All of which was reasons enough for me to make a resolution that no matter how engrossing a book might be, lights are out by midnight, or maybe 2 a.m.?

Going back to the vampire-meets-girl-vampire-and-girl-falls-in-love romance with a seemingly dark twist (what can you expect? its about blood sucking creatures for crying out loud), I found myself transported to my tween years when a "Sweet Dreams" novellete was a must-have in every girl's book arsenal (aside from the usual Archie comic books and Sweet Valley High tomes). Take away the fangs, supernatural powers and immortality and you will find the angsts exeprienced by Bella and Edward and most of the characters in "Twilight" strikingly similar to the less critically-acclaimed teen romance series. Fitting in, unrequited love (or admiration, better yet, crush as it was more colloqially termed in my time), ecstasy of realized mutuality in feelings, envy for the almost perfect girl or boy in campus and so many others all find its place in Ms. Meyer's book that's fast becoming a pop classic for this generation of teens and twentysomething (including my contempraries even). But before "Twilight" fans start throwing tomatoes at me, let me say that while this book reads in some parts like a sibling of my teen romance books of yore, it is so more and its thousand of fans that continues to grow in numbers shall fully agree. The prose is far superior and it is as engaging a book as can be with colorful characters and mythical creatures having lived more than a hundred years. As for the female protagonist, so many youngsters can empathize with her and (I suspect it is one of the reasons for the book's popularity) the story of the clumsy and can't-seem-to-fit-in-girl snagging the handsomest guy in school provides hope for some of the languishing wallflowers out there (although Bellas is no pushover in the looks department, having three other admirers apart from Edward, the main man). I particularly like the unique take on the demon-angel angle and treatment of the condemned immortals. Perfect and beautiful yet tragic in the sense that the thing that keeps them alive is what make them a most deplorable and feared creature.

Taken amidst this backdrop, the book, thus, manages, with flying colors, to rise above the usual clicheic teen romance and becomes the latest betseller's favorite with fave reviews to boot.

Carigara's New Town Kitchenette,Home of the Tasty Humba

Its unassuming signage that has remained unchanged


The entrance

Today I went to Carigara, Leyte to take care of the papers of a client and had the chance to return to a place filled with my fondest memories as a child. While certain smells can bring a sharp tinge of nostalgia, nothing can bring back times past stronger and faster then the place itself.

My father hailed from this town and spent most his life there before going on to Manila to take up college and eventually law. When he married, settled down with Mama in Tacloban City and my sisters and I came one after the other, he sent us all to Carigara to spend our summers there. Days would be filled swimming in the bay that fronted Lola's house followed by rides up and down the poblacion in the "pot-pot" (also known as the pedicab which is a bicycle attached to a side car).

A constant in our itinerary then was the New Town Kitchenette down in Brgy. San Mateo, the place where we always bought our supply of the tasty pastillas. Apart from the carabao's milk candies, it offers a very delicious humba (click here for recipe) that has become the favorite of travelers who ply the Southern route of Leyte. It is owned and run by the Cañamaque sisters who got so busy in their "kitchenette" that marriage plans seems to have been forgotten. They have remained "single and unattached" devoting their time and energies to making the delicious dishes that their homey and rustic restaurant has became famous for. Their place is one of the reasons why Carigara has remained to this day the halfway point for lunch and breakfast of weary travelers

On this particular trip, my father and I had again this nemesis of a dish of all hypertensives (it swims in a plate of fats) and the taste has remained. It was just as I remembered it of summers past and just as tangy and with a "melt in your mouth" consistency. Of course, Papa had to double his dosage of Adalat just to make sure his indulgence would not cost him a day in the hospital (knock on wood).

News from Home: Leyte Hosts Palarong Pambansa 2009

The Province of Leyte hosts this year's Palarong Pambansa, a competition among elementary and high school student all over the country in various sports starting April 27 to May 3, 2009. More than 20,000 delegate, coaches and school staff are set to participate this year and different schools and government facilities will be used for their accomodations. The Leyte Sports Development Center (better known as Grandstand) has been spruced up to the tune of millions where most of the sporting events such as swimming, track and field and volleyball to name a few will be held. For other games, the Badminton Republic, a private facility for paying members, the Leyte Park Hotel grounds, and the basketball gym over at the Provincial Capitol were utilized for the badminton, softball and basketball events, respectively.

Today, is the grand opening, although the games already started yesterday, with no less than Her Excellency, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Guest of Honor. Various cultural presentations representing the different towns of Leyte over at the Grandstand are expected to be culminated by a fireworks display in the evening at the RTR Park.

With all the fanfare, a fireworks of a decidedly different kind has been brewing between the DepEd, the lead government agency in charge of the event and Tacloban City officials led by Mayor Alfred Romualdez. Sol Matugas, the Regional Director for DepEd, this Region, was told by Sanggunian Panlalwigan in a signed resolution to explain, her comments on a national daily saying they (presumably the DepEd) would not need a permit for the parade on grand opening. It will be recalled that Mayor Romualdez opposed the holding of the event in the city and in fact declined to being co-host with the Province of Leyte.

With the huge number of delegates and other visitors including parents and chaperones of the athletes, Tacloban City is the direct beneficiary, economically speaking, of this year's hosting of the Palaro with all the hotels and lodging houses fully booked for the duration of the sporting competition. Bars, restaurants, coffee shops started showing a significant increase in custoners as early as a week before the start of the games when some of the delegations from the different regions started arriving. Jeepney drivers are more than happy with fully packed jeeps of commuting athletes and other delegates. And not to forget, the much needed publicity and opportunity for promoting the city and the province to the national landscape as the venue of a national event. All these make the hosting of this year's Palarong Pambansa worthwhile nothwithstanding all the backyard political feuds.

News From Home 1

"Ted Failon Suspect in Wife's Shooting"

This is one of the trade-offs of seeing your daughter happily clapping away at Walt Disney's Cinderella cartoon movie, not watching the news and missing the hottest and latest headline -grabbing story of the month. By 3pm, she has the television all to herself and Mama will just have to wait until B___ finds another diversion.

What was the story? Oh yes, suicide or foul play? That is the most nagging question on everyone nowadays as Ted Failon's wife lie in a hospital somewhere in Quezon City for injuries sustained from a gunshot wound in the head. Both the helpers of the Failon household and Ted Failon, a newscaster on one of the major television networks, say that it (gunshot wound) was self-inflicted with a sucide note apparently left by his wife to prove it. Police, however, state that it was a mere sorry note and could not be conclusively be taken as what it was claimed to be by Mr. Failon,

Based on the stories of the household helpers and Ted Failon, Trinidad Etong was found slumped 15 April 2009, Wednesday morning in a bathroom of the Failons' house bloodied with a gun at her side. Her husband, who just came from the radio station where he had his early morning program, along with his driver and his wife's sister brought her to the hospital where she is now in critical condition. Recent updates have reported that doctors have now declared her as "brain dead".

Police noted certain inconsitencies in the statements of the household helpers and is currently conducting further investigation. As of posting time, Ted Failon has not yet been cleared of his wife's shooting and his driver and helpers has been charged for obstruction of justice for cleaning the bathroom which was the scene of the alleged shooting as well as the vehicle which was used to transport Mrs. Etong to the hospital.

Ted Failon is actually a Waraynon, a native of Tacloban City and was a popular radio broadcaster in the city in his earlier years before he hit it big time in Manila. He was known then by his true name, Larry Etong. He ran for Congressman in the First Congressional District of Leyte against the incumbent Alfred Romualdez, who is now the present city mayor, during the 2001 local elections and won. He opted, however, to return to newscasting over at ABS-CBN and forego re-election where he has been up to this time and can be seen on its daily evening news program, "TV Patrol World".

(source: http://www.philstar.com/, http://www.inquirer.net/)

The Many Beautiful Uses for Banig

I recently went to Cebu City for a convention and during my stay at my aunt's home, I immediately noticed a quaint and pretty bag she hung in the guest bedroom. It's a bag made of banig which she bought at Eva Adona's shop in Basey, Samar when she visited relatives (our side) last month. It would look great with a summer outfit and is a steal at P450.00.

Banig is actually the end-product of tikog, a reed plant that grows in forests and riceland. The stems are dried and then flattened to be woven into the finished product which is the banig. The banig was mostly used as a sleeping mat but budding entrepreneurs such as the Adona couple of Basey, Samar saw the potential of the material and parlayed this business "third-eye" into a thriving handicraft business exporting products to the United States and other countries apart from the local market.

Ms. Adona's store is chockfull of handicfrafts made from the versatile banig. She has floormats, rugs and slippers as well as other household items made more colorful with dye-soaked banig. Auntie B___ also bought a a geometric-designed circular rug which she used in her lanai. Its a good alternative to the more popular Persian rugs for household with asthma sufferers like mine.

(Some information sourced from www.truthforce.info)

Zumarraga, the land of broken promises

Zumarraga wharf


Old man of the sea, he steered the boat we rode for Zumarraga


Lonely fisherman

Rock formation

Two weeks ago I was asked by my boss to represent him at an event in Zumarraga, Samar. I was quite excited to do this as I have never gone there before and in my research over the Internet I learned that the island-municipality was a naturally beautiful place.

We went via Babatngon, Leyte which is a half hour trip from Tacloban, after which we then rode a motorized boat owned by the family of the mayor which was docked at the Babtngon wharf. The latter's personal secretary welcomed us aboard who proved to be a very able and amiable host. Embarking,I immediately noticed two armed camouflaged men on the boat, perhaps an indication of the bitter political rivalry that is known to exits between the local leaders of Zumarraga and Daram, both island towns that are figuratively a stone's throw from each other.

The trip from Babatngon took almost two hours and along the way we were treated to scenic sights that our host pointed out and named for us. There was the rock stone formations similar to that of Marabut, Samar; white sand beaches that looked deserted except for a few huts, and the ruins of a Spanish garrison meant to deter marauders of the sea.

The waters leading to Zumarraga is a deep emerald green and this could be the reason why the town is sometimes referred to as an emerald of the sea. Yet despite its natural bounty, the municipality has fallen way, way behind in terms of economic progress and the people trapped in a bucolic and yet stale existence. It was once the center of fishing trade in the islands of Samar and Leyte supplying the needs of Tacloban and Catbalogan. But now the fishes are not as abundant as before, the result of enviromental neglect and abuse. Dynamite fishing was said to be rampant and destroyed most of the corals that served as the homes for most of the sea life.

Yet despite the sad tale of the fishes gone elsewhere, the beauty of Zumarraga remain and the smiles on the faces of its people optimistic. Perhaps one day, the promises given would be kept and the waters would teem again with the bounty of the sea.

News from Home - the first

(Photo source)

When I started this blog I wanted it to be something for all the Waray-warays out there - "out" there being the big, big world of Cyberspace-. I did not consciously have the the overseas Waray as the target readers, just anyone who had the distinction of having ties and roots in the two islands of Samar and Leyte, of course, Biliran too, although they speak a different dialect altogether. But somewhere along the way, most of the feedback I got was from Waraynons now-based abroad. In their comments and e-mails I could clearly discern a deep longing for home and anything that reminds them of it. My entry on the flavors of Leyte and Samar had a Waraynon transplanted to the land of kiwis drooling as he recalled breakfasts of sapsap (native dried fish) dipped in coconut vinegar and a Fil-Am from Florida who stumbled upon this blog through Google search commented on how my teaser on the alat (basket carried on the back filled with fruits and vegetables) brought back memories of a childhood when the basket represented a means of livelihood. Homesickness indeed finds its cure in the familiar and I have hoped that in my own little way that through this blog I have helped eased that longing.

So it is with the Waraynon abroad in mind that I have started a regular feature of this blog, "News from Home" which will carry tidbits of news which will keep everyone abreast of development here in Waray country. I plan to have it on a bi-weekly basis but bear with me if I can't really keep up with that schedule (still got a day job to do). I will try to make the most of my free time and be a"Korinna Sanchez" on the side (minus of course her logistics). Now if I can only perfect that multitasking bit...

The Waves of Calico-an Island

World-class facilities of Surf Camp


Infinity pool at the Surf Camp in Calico-an Island


Sometime in April last year, my friends and I went on a trip to Sulangan, a tiny islet at the tip of the province of Eastern Samar to visit the Church of St. Anthony de Padua. The twin images (one on each side of the altar) of the patron saint of desperate cases is known all over Eastern Visayas to grant the fervent wishes of its devotees and judging from the flocks that attends the masses held there, it is safe to surmise that many prayers has found answers after a call to St. Anthony for intercession.

We came on a Saturday and arrived just in time for the nine o'clock mass after departing from Tacloban City at 6:00 a.m., with a brief stop over at Jasmin Resort in the town of Marabut. I saw familiar faces from the city in an "out-of-town folks"-dominated church crowd. Like us, they all came with the hope of answered prayers whispered into the image of St. Anthony. Indeed, faith in a power greater than all of us is a most strong presence in the Filipino's way of life

As if to reward the piousness of the faithful who come to Sulangan, they are treated to an awesome sight of sea and surf as the island of Calico-an is just a 100 meter steel bridge away. In fact before you get to the pilgrim site, you pass by this white sand beach fringed town, a lovely welcome indeed for a spiritual journey for more than anything else, food for the soul was our main reason for coming and the beautiful sight an added bonus.

So just how beautiful is Calico-an? If your a surf lover just like most of the foreigners we saw there, the place where the Pacific rolls its waters is perfect for you. They say the best time for surfing is in the months of November, December and January where the waves are most high and just right for riding. But for a non-swimmer like me, it seemed intimidating even in on a warm month of summer. So me and my friends contented ourselves just listening to the ocean roar while having lunch in one of the restaurants that dot the seascape. Nothing like the sounds of the sea to relax and calm your senses. (During a second trip I made the following month, my family and I stayed at the cove-ringed part of the island where the lagoons allowed for some swimming, and yes, the sand was just as powdery white)

We earlier planned on having our lunch at the Surf Camp (a resort developed by the Aboitiz group) but it was closed at that time. However, the alternative, which was a resto-cum-small-resort, proved to be a blessing in disguise. Its prices were quite reasonable and the food filling, tasty and the straight-from-the-sea fresh. We (five of us) had kinilaw (ceviche) na tangigue, sinigang na lapu-lapu (grouper) , and adobong pusit (squid) all at a surprising P650.00 ($14.13) !!! I wish I could say the same for the room rates, at P3,000.00 ($65.21) per, its quite expensive. But then again with a view of the ocean and the sound of the waves, to quote that famous credit card company's line, the room's natural amenities are "priceless".

Tummies full, we started on the trip back home planning to go back as soon as schedules permitted (So far, it has remained just that, plans, with my friends that is)

So it was that a trip to the Church of St. Anthony de Padua came as a blessing in more ways than one.

Leyte and Samar's Delicacies

They say, "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Well, let me put a new twist to that and say: "the key to a people's soul is their food" (no literary ryhmes shnimes there, but it will do). Indeed, much can be said about a place through a sampling of their dinner table's fare. You have the very precise cuts and shapes of Japanese cuisine which says much of how meticulos the peole from the land of the rising sun are. And how can we forget the native land of sexy Marimar, Mexico with its hot and spicy tacos and nachos?

As promised, here is a post of delicacies and delectable offerings from the islands of Leyte and Samar. Just like Waraynons who are happy and joy-loving people, you will find that most of their food complement a favorite pastime, drinking sessions with the ever-present tuba (native drink taken from the juice of the still uopened coconut bud).

But first, a word of thanks to Mr. Bimbo Tan, OTOP Coordinator from DTI-Region VIII. I borrowed his collection of photographs taken by by Mr. Joe Barrera, likewise of the OTOP Program, documenting the different OTOP products in a 10 day road trip around the region. What follows is a veritable "movable" feast for the eyes. For the information of the many, OTOP stands for One-Town-One-Product, a program of the Department of Trade and Industry wherein a product of each town is picked, showcased and given technical assistance.


Binagol



To begin our food trip, let me start with a personal favorite the binagol, pride of Dagami. The fruit of the "tree of life" is one of its main ingredients. This is not surprising, as said in my earlier posts, the coconut is abundant in this parts of the country. My childhood is rife with the memories of this sticky concoction ensconced in a coconut shell which my paternal lola (she has since passed away) meticulously wrapped in boxes meant for my uncle in Manila.. She would always leave two for me and my sisters to chomp on during our summers by her place in Carigara. You may find these in sidewalks just below Gaisano at the Shopping Center but it is always wiser to buy from a suki or straight from the source in Dagami. Another just as tasty alternative are by-the-roadside-stalls in Calbiga, Samar where its version might just take the word Dagami from binagol and replace it with its own.

Chocolate moron

Bearing no resemblance to its English namesake, another Waray delicacy is the moron – sourced mostly from the town of Abuyog, Leyte. It is a also a dessert of coconut strips and as well as pilit, Philippine fancy rice. Just like most of its sweeter cousins, the moron is prepared using the giniling (milled) method. Not to sweet for it to be banned from the diabetic's table, it retains the flavor of coconut meat and the stickiness of its glutinous rice.

Sapsap

Going into the coast of Carigara Bay, you come along its favored method of preserving fish, drying their catch in the sun with a generous sprinkling of table salt. The market of this town is lined with stall selling all kinds of bulad. There is the sapsap and the dilis, to name a few. It is quite salty and not recommended for hypertensives. Nevertheless, compared to what's sold in the rest of the province, the dried fish of Carigara is still the least in salt content. It is to be expected as most of the people living here derive their livelihood from the bountiful harvests of the sea. Many balikbayans would love to bring this back home with them but it seems foreigners finds its smell offensive. Some even mistook the fumes of frying of bulad as that of a dead rat. But that’s another story. Really, perhaps its an acquired taste, but I do love the smell of bulad in the morning.




Pastillas

Apart from its bulad, Carigara is also known for its tasty pastillas made from pure carabao's milk. I am always reminded by my cousins in Cebu to bring along a pack when I come to visit them. I would end up buying two as I was tempted to finish one whole pack all by my lonesome. There are imitations, ones made from condensed milk and the city shops are littered with them. Its the carabao's milk that makes all the difference so if its not made from it, the taste is really different, it becomes too sweet. So you are sure of getting the real deal, a trip to Carigara would be worth it to buy your stock. My regular suki is Mana Lumen, you cannot be wrong with her pastillas as it is really made of carabao's milk. She lives and cooks her stuff at the Poblacion in Carigara. Just ask for her house from the pedicab driver.

As if the salty fried fish was not enough, I also have an addiction to sisi. This product of shells that sticks to rocks, which also goes by the handle "rock oysters", is one of my usual request when my friend goes home to Catbalogan. It is very cheap, Php50.00 a bottle. But you have to wash it very well as it is very salty. It serves as a very good appetizer and goes well with a dash of calamansi.

The taste of the islands is one unique experience, the different flavors a reflection of the town's unique culture and heritage. For inquiries on where to order, e-mail me at waray_ako_2008@yahoo.com so I can give you recommended stores and sources. (photos courtesy of Mr. Tan)

International Foodie Show Goes to Manila

I just wanted to contribute my two centavos worth of national pride. How? By telling (informing is more apt, kinda lazy today to make a real full-length post about it) you about the Philippine episode of of Anthony Bourdain's cooking show, "No Reservations". Yup, your right, a whole hour is dedicated to showcasing some "gritty but tasty" (his words) Filipino food fare. Perhaps it can entice some of you to make that plannned trip for home if only to savor true-blue Filipino dishes again. One can catch his show on the Travel Channel and its Philippine episode premiered last February 16 in the US. Too bad, cable's not available at my parent's house (some household oversight) so I would have to look for a link on the Internet. Anyway, to read more about it, click here and drool :-).

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)

Have Some Photo Fun

Hey guys, I got directed to this site from a blog. Check it out. You can make real funny pictures from a template set, just browse for the design you want then upload your chosen picture and the web site will do the rest, here's a sample:



No, she's not a hippie lost in time who just got arrested for smoking Mary Janes, she's actually a relative who's gonna kill me once she's found out I've morphed her pic and posted it here.

For anyone who knows French and translate this for me, you just might get a free ad posting here for your product or anything you want my readers to see.

Happy morphing.

P.S. Makes you wonder whether photographs should have their evidentiary value revisited. Just a thought. :-)