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NOVEMBER 11-17, 2013 VOL.4 NO.12 Visit us at www.opinyon.com.ph facebook.com/opinyon twitter.c om/opinyon2010
SNAKE PIT
By Miguel Raymundo
The Presidents men are killing each
other, making Malacaang the most
dangerous place to be in: a snake pit.
The Samar group has taken an upper
hand in the war of dirty tricks. The war
is driven by both greed and fear. The
feud is going out of control that PNoy
could end up falling even before the
2016 elections. Page 2
SNAKE PIT
regularly met in Roxas house. The other one
is Samar, made up of Maria Montelibanos
Noynoy For President Media Bureau, Pacqui-
to Ochoas legal team, some of Mr. Aquinos
former schoolmates, his sisters Pinky and
Ballsy, and Mr. Sonny Belmonte.
Peoples Uprising
By Richard James Mendoza his little defense of the Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP) on live TV,
JUST a few weeks ago, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno introduced insisting that its not pork barrel and that
its the fault of the opposition, the pro-
the idea of crafting a law abolishing all kinds of pork barrel by means gressive Left, and of course his favorite
of a peoples initiative through Republic Act 6735, also known as the scapegoat Gloria Arroyo.
Based on personal experience, the power
Initiative and Referendum Law. of collective action to bring concrete re-
Multiple sectors have expressed their ceive a mere slap in the wrist should they sults is uncontested. Its time to raise
support for the peoples initiative; among get their hands caught in the proverbial the level of discussion in order to arouse
those who have thrown in their support cookie jar. the people about the issues that face
are the Catholic Church through the Personally, Im skeptical about the our country, organize them into units,
CBCP, as well as the transport sector and outcome of this peoples initiative. After and then mobilize under a united front.
various militant groupswith the lat- the Oct. 4 rally in Ayala, all of a sudden Its now time to push for a more direct
ter two planning to hold gatherings to CJ Puno shows up with this idea. Though and perhaps radical solution. Because
gain signatures to help meet the required CJ Punos people initiative is a welcome until the ruling classes continue to thrive
number of signatories. move that warrants its support, it should on the exploitation of the oppressed
Malacanang on their part wasnt too be taken with a grain of salt for the possi- masses, they wont even bother to listen
receptive of the idea, with Sec. Coloma bility of the move being hijacked (or even to our demands let alone take action for
saying that the peoples initiative pre- supported) by outside forces is very much this issue. When our backs are pushed
supposes that the Legislative and the Ex- real and shouldnt be easily ignored. And Secretary Coloma against the wall, what else can be done?
ecutive branches of government are un- no, its not going to be the ND Left like Do we just ask the oppressor to stop?
willing to enact and implement laws that what the Million People March organiz- destiny and that no other option would Reflecting the call of Anakbayan, let us
will prevent the misuse of public funds. ers have always insinuated with their be left should this option fail. Does work towards a peoples uprising to abol-
Well thank you very much, Captain statements. this call for a more radical undertaking? ish ALL kinds of pork and to advance gen-
Obvious (or should I say Captain Oblivi- Im talking about the US imperial- After the past several months of pub- uine social change through the national
ous?)! It should have been apparent by now ists of course, with the CIA along with lic outrage against the pork barrel system democratic revolution. Punish the plun-
that under the present administration, the the National Endowment for Democracy that manifested an underlying problem derers and the corrupt that benefitted from
Executive and Legislative branches of the (NED) as well as their related surveillance in the present political system of the exploiting the masses composed of the
government are unwilling to enact and fronts like the US Aid, The Asia Founda- Philippines; from the so-called Million Yellows and their ilk, the large bourgeois-
implement the laws preventing the mis- tion, etc., in coordination with the Yellows People March and the humorous failure compradors and landlords, the bureau-
use of public funds, whatever they may in power. of EDSA TAYO!, to the #ScrapPork net- crat-capitalists; in other words, those who
be. Besides, the proposed peoples initia- work consisting of various anti-corruption are at the top of the social triangle. Lets
No amount of deception created by tive is merely reformist in nature; it seeks coalitions and groups that were formed reverse the triangle upside-down and
your multi-headed Communications Of- to change the present circumstances in the midst of the outrage against pork, place those at the bottom of the triangle,
fice can cover the fact that a culture of within the framework of the corrupt now comes the next step of the plan. the workers and the farmers, on top and
impunity is being maintained by those system. Yet, it is interesting to note that Though there are a few exceptions, I lead a new country free from the three
in power. These people know that under the peoples initiative was described by dont think that the people are falling ills that currently plague our coun-
such conditions they can get either get CJ Puno as the last peaceful alterna- for the lies of the Aquino regime. As of try. Only then will we have achieved our
away with their crimes scot-free, or re- tive for the people to take charge of their press time, the President had just fi nished victory.
S
OMETHING is hap- after the impeachment through the exception of a very few sam- large percentage of the national
pening in this na- somewhat dubious methods of ples, the others will be indicted budget at about 600 Billion of a
tion that is not easy the Chief Justice, sent tsunami- at all. Again, it will be at the 2 trillion budget, approved by a
to understand or in- like waves over the whole na- expense of PNoys integrity and compliant Congress in 15 min-
terpret. Most people tion. The ones who impeached commitment to doing the right utes as the media have reported.
are wondering whats Corona were guilty of even thing! I suspect though that Well, maybe not totally, but
next. Others are also greater corruption! Proof once RAY in formulating that slogan the certainly much , much less than
wondering how PNOY
sees and/or interprets what is
and for all that, with few excep-
tions, corrupt and dishonorable
OF HOPE ones who crafted his political
postures never anticipated that
the current amount; the idea
being let the amounts be al-
happening. Most of the opin- persons in just about every part Ramon Orosa all these revelations of corrup- located directly to the line de-
ions are not so salutary. of government are totally unde- tion would ever be so public. partments who must give good
When the protests began serving of any honor and have Next followed the Zambo- account of how they spend it.
about the PDAF and began to tainted so severely their posi- lator. In other words, sheer cos- anga incident and there are And so, PNoys principal
reach a crescendo, the evident tions. No delicadeza and they metics, not substantive. those that saw what happened slogans lie in tatters.
uncertainty of the Palace was are still clinging to their posts, The second portion of the as suspiciously orchestrated. Well, I think it was naively
discomforting. First was the shameless if anything. protesters demands was to Followed by PNoys physically undertaken and has proven
kneejerk response of oppos- Remedial action was un- charge everyone involved in the staying in Zamboanga for a virtually impossible to truly
ing the protest and defend- dertaken to try and pacify the corruption, regardless of party week, utterly neglecting all the pursue. But it does raise issues
ing PDAF. Then the position protesters by inviting the some- affiliation. The report of the other national concerns. Some about what is next. If the pro-
changed to being somewhere what motley leaders to a confer- Commission on Audit indicated interpret this as a somewhat tests continue or if PNoy truly
in the middle until the day of ence with the DBM head Butch that over 200 legislators were escapist activity. Next came pursues the issue of corruption
the protest when a declaration Aquino and DSWD Sec. Soli- somehow involved in the matter, the earthquake in Bohol and so in the PDAF, he will have to
of support for the protest was man and a few others. It did some already out of Congress, now PNoy is camping out in the deal as well with the claimed
made obviously to pre-empt the not result in any real changes as many others still in. Well, up to area. This leaves a lot of peo- corruption in Malampaya
MPM protest march at Luneta. was proven subsequently. now the charges have not been ple wondering that though the funds, the Agriculture scam
Obviously, the responses The peoples demands were filed and it seems only three are moves might have had some PR and a whole lot of others that
suggested that the assessment essentially two. First, abolish being seriously considered at this value, it did expose PNoy to ac- have come to light.
was that the protests would the PDAF in both houses of time. The sad part is that legisla- cusations of limited capacity to Then, there is the corruption
somehow go away and that it Congress, meaning take away tors on both sides of the aisle are undertake the stresses of office in many LGU units all the way
should not be taken seriously. from them the power to initiate involved but PNoy is being true and face the very serious issues down to the Barangay level. As
This was a mistake because and control projects, their func- to his pursuit of only those that that need to be faced. So much I have commented before, we
what was hurt was PNOYs own tion being legislating. They are may represent a danger to him for the people being the boss. will probably need to enlarge
integrity. For someone who had welcome to make suggestions, or else those that are in the op- Turns out to be sheer political our jails and holding places or
planted on the masthead of his but cannot initiate projects on position. So the protesters have blather. else create a bonanza for hospi-
administration the Matuwid their own initiative. That work given PNoy until sometime early These developments though tals as the favorite holding area
na Daan, his vacillation about should be undertaken by the December to file all the charges smack of a very cynical sort of of those who have some influ-
truly pursuing the corruption line departments and agencies and otherwise prove that he is perception management con- ence in this nation.
exposed by the Commission on with no overt or discreet inter- just like the other politicians and sidering the damage done to But this is not really the dan-
Audit report was disheartening ference. cannot stand on his declared PNoys image by his waffl ing ger. If PNoy is pushed hard to
to many people. Of course what resulted in slogan. He has been found seri- on the PDAF issue; protesters the wall, what direction will he
This revelation of such exten- the budgetary process was to ously wanting. He may have a incidentally wanted the elimi- then take? We need the seers to
sive malfeasance in the highest simply change the collar around heart for the poor but all calcu- nation of discretionary spend- come out and tell us what they
levels of the Legislative bodies the pork but the initiative still lated for political gain. ing to be applied to what is see coming up next because I do
and the Executive Departments, rests with the individual legis- I am not betting that with tantamount to his own pork, a not see the pressures abating.
From the
Chairman By Raymund L. Junia
I WAS in the province for a long weekend to cele- legal while PNoy bends laws and the constitution
brate All Souls Day. It was a four-day stay in Tolosa, and is accused as budget dictator.
Leyte with relatives I have not seen for decades. The town is also home to three Boy Scouts he-
Tolosa in Leyte is one small town with a voting roes who helped the American forces take out the
population of about 20,000. I do not remember of Japanese army from the shores of Leyte on the
the town having a regular market day, a measure return of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. One of these
of a towns economic life, from the time I left some three boy heroes was my uncle, Antero Junia.
over forty years ago. One thing I noticed in the province: nobody
I always brag of living in a town, Tolosa, with talked about the Napoles pork barrel. Unless I took
the cleanest market in the province, due to the ab- up the topic, the Senators Tanda, Sexy, and Pogi
E D I T O R I A L sence of business activity. hardly were talked about.
Even when the small town suffers from anemic The people in my town did not talk national
economic activity, this town does not fail to get na- politics and if ever, it was to make a joke, mostly
War in the Palace tional attention, the latest being the second landfall
of last weeks super typhoon Yolanda.
The town is remembered in the province and
corny. They talked about local politicians like how
two private planes flew in from Manila in the last
local elections, carrying bags and bags of cash to
IS THERE trouble brewing in Malacaang? With two the country to be home to Congressman Daniel Z. buy votes for a mayoralty candidate of the Romual-
camps running the Palacethe so-called Balay and Romualdez, who served as Speaker of the House dez family.
Samar groups headed by Sec. Mar Roxas and Executive of Representatives and uncle to Imelda Romuladez Nothing much has changed in my town. We
Secretary Pacquito Ochoa, respectivelythe answer is a who later married the countrys only official dictator. talked about mahjong, tong-its, and the beach. Yes,
Official because he was man enough to de- my children keep on going back to Tolosa for her
resounding YES. clare Martial Law to make his decrees and orders beautiful beach.
Its an odd marriage forged in 2010 during the election
campaigns, a partnership that was immediately strained
with the loss of Mar Roxas to Jejomar Binay in the race
for Vice President. Power sector debt: $ 34-B
W
From then on the two camps barely managed to co-ex-
ist, engaging in minor scrapes and arguments every now HILE the coun- for tax delinquency. In 2010 de-
and then on the handling of issues of national import. try is being dis- spite a higher P 500-M bid the
But that was before the PDAF scandal got out of the tracted with the plants the Iligan City council
bag which put the whole administration in its biggest Napoles hear- resold them to Alcantaras for P
ings revolving 300-Million, less than 10 cents to
quandary.
The fragile relationship between the two camps have
around P 10-Bil- PEOPLES the Peso. Rehab cost of P 34-M
Wake Up!
T
HE New York Times Filipino troops stationed there of achievements in the South our troops miserably hanging
Sunday magazine cover struggling to survive extreme China Sea. He had already put it on to what was left of the vin-
story (October 27) - A mental and physical desola- in the win column, even though tage ship.
Sea of Trouble, with tion. eight Filipino marines still live I just could not imagine that
the second heading And this same decaying ship there. He also seemed to take in the midst of all of these huge
A Game of Shark and
Minnow, is actually an
could be the next battleground
between China and our coun-
WHISTLE some pleasure in the strategy.
Of taking territory from the
funds misused by the chosen
few, there in the middle of the
eye-opener for all of us try, whether we like it or not. BLOWER Philippines, he said: sea, our Filipino troops trying to
especially to our leaders. Why is The Sierra Madre at one We should do more such survive in order to protect our
this so? time was the U.S.S. Harnett Erick San Juan things in the future. For those sovereignty.
The New York Times story County, built as a tank-landing small islands, only a few troop- Any sane person will ask
cited the following: In a remote ship for World War II and then ers are able to station on each after reading this cover story of
corner of the South China Sea, repurposed as a floating heli- Peoples Liberation Army, said of them, but there is no food or the NYT magazine: Is the Phil-
105 nautical miles from the Phil- copter and speedboat hub in in a television interview in May, even drinking water there. ippines present administration
ippines, lies a submerged reef the rivers of Vietnam. In 1970, using the Chinese term for Scar- If we carry out the cab- numb on the plight of the eight
the Filipinos call Ayungin Shoal. the U.S. gave the ship to the borough. (That there are three bage strategy, you will not be Filipinos living (or slowly dying)
In most ways it resembles the South Vietnamese, and in 1976. different names for the same set able to send food and drinking there inside the Sierra Madre?
hundreds of other reefs, islands, It was passed on to the Phil- of uninhabitable rocks tells you water onto the islands. With- And if not, why the hell are they
rock clusters and cays that col- ippines. But nobody had ever much of what you need to know out the supply for one or two are not doing anything?
lectively are called the Spratly taken the time to strip all of the about the region.) He described weeks, the troopers stationed All the rhetoric and double-
Islands. But Ayungin is differ- communications gear or even a cabbage strategy, which en- there will leave the islands on speak about military modern-
ent. In the reefs shallows there old U.S. logbooks and a fleet tails surrounding a contested their own. Once they have left, ization through the contro-
sits a forsaken ship, manned by guide from 1970. (Ibid) area with so many boats fish- they will never be able to come versial Malampaya funds to
eight Filipino troops whose job Recently, the Filipino troops ermen, fishing administration back. (Ibid) address the South China Sea
is to keep China in check. manning the Sierra Madre were ships, marine surveillance ships, The PLAs cabbage operation issue are all BS if such a simple
Yes what we have in the con- given a power point presenta- navy warships that the is- in Ayungin is a clear sign how thing as this will not be re-
tested area is an eight-manned tion of the real situation in the land is thus wrapped layer by desperate they are to occupy the solved to save what is left of our
ship, a dilapidated one, actu- contested area particularly in layer like a cabbage. area, fi rst in Ayungin and before sovereignty.
ally a World War II-era ship Ayungin. Just imagine the mag- There can be no question we know it, the whole group of Chinas cabbage op is al-
called the Sierra Madre, which nitude of the role these men that the cabbage strategy is in islands known as Spratlys. And ready in placenow and through
the Philippine government ran have in the whole region that effect now at Ayungin and has the only thing we have there this scheme, any miscalculated
aground on the reef in 1999 and will have a great impact in the been at least since May. General manning the move will always be perceived
has since maintained as a kind confluence of events particular- Zhang, in his interview sev- Dangerous Ground (a as an act of provocation. A
of post-apocalyptic military ly in geopolitics. Unfortunate- eral months ago, listed Renai reference made to Spratlys by provocation that might lead to a
garrison. ly, China through Maj. Gen. Shoal (the Chinese name for navigators since the 18th cen- regional confl ict in the process.
The small detachment of Zhang Zhaozhong, of Chinas Ayungin) in the P.L.A.s series tury) is the Sierra Madre with God forbid.
Localizing Development
Measures
T
HE Human Develop-
ment Index (HDI) is
a composite statistic
to rank countries into
four tiers of human
development, namely
low, medium, high and SCIENCE
very high. The coun-
tries are ranked based on three
WORKS
measures, namely the life ex-
pectancy index, the education
Ike Seeres
index and the income index.
The life expectancy is mea- viously to make it appear that
sured from birth. The educa- the crime rate is low in their
tion index is measured by the jurisdictions, meaning to say
adult literacy rate and the com- that they are doing their job
bined primary, secondary and well. I wrote about this prob-
tertiary gross enrolment ratio. lem many years back, and I
The income index is measured argued that the Philippine
through the standard of liv- National Police (PNP) should
ing, as indicated by the natural not be the source of crime rate
logarithm of gross domestic reports, because that would
product (GDP) per capita at put them in a confl ict of inter-
purchasing power parity. est situation. Naturally, they
Simply put the HDI mea- would tend to make it appear
REMBRANDT BALITAAN Orlando Marquez, president of Liga ng Transportasyon at Operator sures life expectancy in rela- that everything is good; oth-
sa Pilipinas and former president of Philippine Investors Society, and political activist MD Rebueno tion to the mortality rate. It erwise it would make them
were guests at the recent Balitaan sa Hotel Rembrandt. Marquez cited the lack of government sup- measures the literacy rate in look bad. Having said that,
port toward transport systems using alternative fuels while Rebueno urged President Aquino to relation to the illiteracy rate. who could possibly report the
cleanse his loop of scammers. Also in photo is forum host Erick San Juan. In a manner of speaking, it provincial HDI data without a
measures the prosperity rate possible confl ict of interest?
in relation to the poverty rate. In the case of the PNP
In usual practice, the illiteracy anomaly, it would seem that
Damage control? rate is usually not measured, the problem is in the consoli-
O
being just the opposite of the dation of the data, and not in
literacy rate. In the same man- the gathering of the data.
N the eve of last All becoming the greatest president ner, the prosperity rate is also Since there was apparently
Saints Day, Pres. Be- our country has ever had!! not usually measured, being no problem in the crime rate
nigno Simeon Aquino No, it would not be in P- just the opposite of the pov- reports of the other police di-
lll delivered a hurriedly Noys character to step down. erty rate. It stands to reason rectors, it would be fair to say
crafted twelve-min- He will hang in there until hell however that the prosperity that the honest ones did not
ute damage-control freezes over. Ever since he took rate actually reflects the statis- tamper with the data that was
speech that instead Cojuangco out of his name, he tic of all those who are above submitted by the lower levels
created greater damage
to his plummeting popularity MUSINGS has remained determined to be
his own man, a president who
the poverty line.
As I understand it, the
that could also be presumed
to be honest. For lack of any
ratings triggered by his boners gets what he wants and intends Philippine government is not other practical choice, could
in the Disbursement Accelera- Ronald Roy to leave behind a legacy all his ranking the provinces in terms we possibly rely on the local
tion Program (DAP) imbroglio. own. You get 95 million citi- of their human development mayors to be honest in report-
I cannot fathom why, for the life zens demanding his ouster, and indices, either using the HDI ing their local HDI data?
of me, so much dissension has hapless citizen held hostage by he still will not budge an inch. method or any other measure. On the upside, I would say
been generated by a prime-time a madman gone berserk on sur- P-Noy is just irreversibly bent As I also understand it, there that the statistical methods
discourse defending the admin- vival mode. Wow, I mulled, this on being his own man even if it is no such thing as a Gross that are used in computing the
istrations indefensible DAP po- guys gonna be around for an- means tempting Fate by doing Provincial Product (GPP) in HDI data are purely transpar-
sition. other two and a half years! so. relation to the Gross National ent and technical, meaning
DAP is unconstitutional, pe- P-Noys delivery was ex- BANG is the awesome reso- Product (GNP). But since the that these could not possibly
riod; and no amount of sophistry pectedly fluid and rhetorical; a nance caused by an assassins HDI method measures only be corrupted by political in-
from the fi nest of student coun- speech trait generally associated fury, and how well P-Noy the the GDP, perhaps it would also terventions. Moreover, the re-
cils can validate or rectify it -- with the Aquino clan. No other gun enthusiast knows it. Of be a good idea to also measure sulting computations could be
sophistry is the use of clever but Filipino president could have course he should be aware his the Gross Provincial Domestic subjected to the review of local
false arguments, especially with delivered the same piece with as adamance could take him to an Product (GPDP). On a simi- accountants and auditors, who
the intention of deceiving --not- much persuasiveness and elan. inglorious tarmac-like cul de sac, lar note, it may also be a good could all be presumed to be po-
withstanding the supposed best This was, again, his big mo- but he is pathetically too busy idea to measure the Provincial litically neutral. The key to this
of intentions behind its cryptic ment before the cameras, except being his own man to sense any Per Capita Income (PPCI). however is the accuracy of the
creation, along with their trum- that, this time, the more knowl- danger. Then again, perhaps he In my previous columns, input data, because otherwise,
peted beneficial results, if any. edgeable of his listeners and has deluded himself into think- I wrote about JEWEL, short it would just be a Garbage In,
DAP is unconstitutional be- viewers could detect the decep- ing he has the sort of courage for a development framework Garbage Out situation.
cause P-Noy, his fair-haired boy, tion, along with subtle remind- that is the stuff of martyrdom. that would organize and co- I believe that once the
Department of Budget and Mis- ers that the power that he had Could he be crazy? Hmmm...Yes, ordinate the delivery of five controversies over the recent
management Secretary Butch wielded to crush the impeached maybe. basic services at the local scams are over, the focus will
Abad, and other sycophants CJ Renato C. Corona could again level, namely Justice, Educa- shift to genuine local devel-
unilaterally (i.e., without the re- be unleashed to silence his critics Politics, Politics, Politics tion, Wellness, Employment opment projects that will be
quired legislative participation) on the DAP fiasco. He irritating- In any event, I hear its busi- andLivelihood. Among these implemented by the local
invented it, and there is abso- ly chose the issues, rattling off A ness as usual back at the Palace. five basic services, only the government units (LGUs) on
lutely no excuse for this culpable B C D E F etc. while we wanted Strengthening of the Liberal last four are directly relevant their own, or in cooperation
breach of the fundamental law. to hear him go through 1 2 3 4 5 Party is up in the air. Sen. Ralph to the HDI method. However, with Non-Government Units
6 etc. For instance, he intoned: I Recto has loomed as the stron- it could be said that justice is (NGOs). I could only hope
A Machiavellian Offense am not a thief! even if nobody gest choice to replace the embat- actually indirectly relevant to that the LGUs would give pri-
Wrong is wrong. For instance, was calling him one. tled Senate President Franklin the HDI method, because the ority to projects that would in-
a thief cannot be allowed to say, Drilon, whose latest embarrass- lack of it could be a way to crease their HDI performance.
You cannot sue me because I The Undelivered Message ment is his being found out to deny access to the last four. I am also hoping that they
am not guilty of anything! I stole, What then would I have be the chairman of a foundation Although it is really not that would plan and implement
yes, but I delivered the good- wanted to see and hear from organized for the mother of Janet simple as it seems, employment their projects in line with the
ies to our pitifully impoverished P-Noy? Well, this: an angry and Lim Napoles. and livelihood are the obvious JEWEL framework.
countrymen. In fact, I did not in contrite President saying that he Incidentally, P-Noy has re- means to increase the incomes On my part, I am now
any material way benefit from was sorry for all the pork bar- portedly cautioned Drilon and of our people, thus also elevat- working on a project that
my altruism. Sadly, however, he rel and DAP mess his adminis- former Sen. Ed Angara against ing their standards of living. I would provide an alternative
is still criminally liable because tration had caused, that he had indiscreet contacts with officials am using employment here in information superhighway
Machiavellianism is anathema fi red Abad, Agriculture Secre- of the Office of the Ombudsman a loose sense, because it could for national development and
to our legal system that operates tary Alcala, the notorious Ron- and the Commission on Audit. also mean self-employment, emergency response purposes,
under the Rule of Law. ald Llamas who has been widely Also, being eyed this early is a a concept that could also mean as a way of helping LGUs and
Needless to say, it is very rumored to be in constant touch probable Mar Roxas - Kris Aqui- having a small business. I am NGOs alike. I have no doubt in
devastating that the Machiavel- with SC Associate Justices, and no tandem for the 2016 elections. also using livelihood here in my mind that one way or the
lian offender in the instant DAP other lackeys. P-Noy seems to Repeat: this early. Ho-hum. a loose sense, because it could other, information and com-
case is no less than Pres. Noynoy have forgotten that consigning But its all up to P-Noy, re- also mean having a small busi- munications technology (ICT)
himself. Now, is this not a very Undersecretary Rico Puno to ally. I would not be surprised if ness or perhaps it could also holds the key to the attainment
negative image that he has man- oblivion helped prop up his then he would choose to extend his mean practicing ones craft or of national development, but
aged to portray of himself under sagging presidential image. term and his confreres gave way. profession. first, the LGUs must do their
the circumstances?! I also would have wanted Fools, these traditional politi- Very recently, several po- part in local development.
I felt sorry for him as he ad- to hear P-Noy say he was giv- cians! lice directors got into hot
dressed the nation either with ing up his pork barrel in favor water when it was discovered For feedback, emailis-
such ignorance of the law or of line departments. Wow, if he (http://musingsbyroy.wordpress. that they were tampering with eneres@yahoo.comor
with outright defiance of it. I felt had done all these, he probably com. | 09186449517 | @ronald8roy local crime rate statistics, ob- text+639083159262
sorrier for myself, feeling like a would have primed himself up to | #musingsbyroy)
YOLO*
Dearest Bella, Singapore, I took a detour and a result of you sharing too much your friends dont want to hear.
My friends tell me I am over- took a bus to and explored or it could be that they were tired Continuing to tell your friends
sexed, that I like sex too much. Kuala Lumpur for two days and of hearing about your encounters. about your encounters in spite
I tell them, Who doesnt? Even one night. On the bus, I sat with Filipinas, based on several friends of their oversexed reaction may
priests are tempted to from time this handsome stranger. When I have, are basically conservative. eventually result to losing some
to time to which they reply, we arrived in Malaysia, I went I know that most of these friends of them. If you really need to tell
Blasphemy! I want to hear with him to his hotel and got to
know him better before I toured
CONFESSION would not want to hear my bed- these stories to someone, then
your thoughts on this.
Here are two of my most in- the city. FACTS hopping adventures, if I have any.
Maybe this is also something that
choose one who is as open-minded
as you are.
teresting hook ups. I am oversexed? I dont see
Two months ago I picked up anything wrong with picking Isabella San Gabriel
a friend, Peter, from the airport. up someone I do know how to Gay Sex
Hes not really a friend. Actu- play it safe and to always protect
ally, I met him the fi rst time myself in all these encounters. I umn a couple of times that sexual
when I picked him up. Though, am a single woman responsible encounters last for several min-
weve been talking online, in only to myself. utes, but several sexually trans-
a web site dedicated to people mitted diseases last a lifetime.
who loves travelling and meet- Sincerely, Maybe months or years from now,
ing people in the places they Karen M. I dont want to receive another
travel to, for a month. Peter is email from you saying how you
this 6 2 Australian with an in- Karen, thank you for writing regret your sexual impetuous-
credible body based on several and sharing these beautiful sto- ness. Wouldnt it be great if you
half-nude pictures he has on his ries. Yes, they are beautiful. They and whoever is your flavor of the
profi le. tell me about your passion for life. moment can carry around both of
So two months ago I picked Though these stories are about your latest clean bill of health cer-
him up and shortly after I dis- your sex life, I bet my non-exist- tificate from a doctor?
covered for myself how incred- ing psychology degree that you are As a woman, I know how we
ible Peters body is. And, wow! this passionate in everything that girls talk about anything when
This hunky bloke toured you do. we get together and I understand
the Philippines for a couple of I dont see you as oversexed. how you would share some of
weeks and for a few days he Between you and me, I think that your most entertaining encoun-
stayed with me. During the day the people who invented the term ters. Since you didnt give me the
I took him around Manila to oversexed are not having enough context of the conversation youre
some of my favorite places. At and joked themselves into believ- having with your friends when
night, we did what comes natu- ing that they are over sex. they told you youre oversexed, I (www.buzzfeed.com)
rally when you put an attractive, I do caution you, and I cant cant give a more specific opinion. *An acronym for you only live once
heterosexual man and woman over emphasize this enough, to Based on at that time,
in a room. be very, very careful in all youre what you were maybe their Isabella San Gabriel is an aspiring life coach with focus on effective and
Now, the last time I was in encounters. Ive said it in this col- talking about reaction was great relationships. Email her at womanconfessions@gmail.com.
T
From page 12
W
HILE defi nitely Italian in origin, husband and
wife food entrepreneurs Eduardo and Tess
Ngan-Tian went into business branding their
pizza as the Genuine Pinoy Pizza. The gim-
mick worked and their small business grew by
leaps and bounds.
Co-owners of the successful franchise sys-
tem LotsA Pizza, this Pinoy couple started
their business in 1987 renting out food stall
spaces near the San Beda College campus in
Mendiola, Manila. At that time, Eduardo was selling hamburgers, siopao, ice
cream, banana cue, peanuts and other snack food items through R&W Foods, and
Tess was working as fi nance and administrative director at San Beda Alabang.
Humble Beginnings
When no occupants leased three of their stalls in Mendiola, Tess came up with
the idea of offering a different fare to the studentstheir usual patrons. To add to
the fare she added pizza which she made from her own recipe.
With a business now needing fulltime attention, Eduardo asked Tess to quit her job
at San Beda. After some thinking, Tess packed her bags and went to the United States
to study a course on pizza technology at the American Institute of Baking where the
unique pan baked crust and signature sauce of LotsA Pizza was developed.
That was the beginning of LotsA Pizza here in the Philippines.
With no background in the food industry, but armed with CPA backgrounds,
the Ngan-Tian couple invested PhP250,000 into their venture and started out with
10 co-owned LotsA Pizza stores in 1996.
From these humble beginnings, the Ngan-Tian couple started a franchise sys-
tem in 2000 and today LotsA Pizza has over 130 franchised outlets all over the
Philippines and 39 company-owned stores.
Business Guideposts
In a newspaper interview, Tess shared her guideposts for business.
First, make sure that the product you have is universal. Meaning, anywhere in
the country, or in the world, that product is accepted, Tess said.
Second, make sure that the product is tailored fit to the taste of your clients.
You cannot expect someone in the Philippines to eat the same way as Ameri-
cans do. Even if it is the same product, there will still be differences, she added.
Third, and most importantly, you should develop your own product. Make sure
that your product has its own character to be a market stand out.
Through the couples joint effort, they were able to create a market brand known
for its affordability and high quality of ingredients used. Their signature dough,
she said, has the desired chewiness and crunchiness but without the toughness.
Moreover the crust is formulated with very low sugar and oil which makes it a
good source of complex carbohydrates, Tess said.
Turn to page 11