Elect Lee Kuan Yew

We often hear calls to elect leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. However, it is easier said than done in the Philippines. The Filipino people may elect a leader with the qualities of ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ but once he is in the office, they’ll throw whatever garbage and baseless accusations they have towards him. He would have to face several coup de etat, marching priests and nuns, demonstrations in EDSA and character assassination from the opposition. If he survives the office, he’ll leave a broken man.


A leader who mirrors Lee Kuan Yew would have to face hurdles in order to push for reforms. He’ll suffer a great deal of headache if he decides to push through with his agenda of changing the whole political system. The hurdles are the militant organization, priests and nuns, obstructionist oppositions and Filipino people who don’t want change. He would have to suffer low approval rating from the questionable SWS Survey and any other survey firms paid for by the opposing party.

But the most difficult of his entire task is to change his people’s perception. He has to instill discipline and follow the rule of law to his people.

Having given all the uphill battles that the would be ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ will face, it’s time we ask ourselves if we are really ready to elect a leader like him. Electing a leader like ‘Lee Kuan Yew’ means giving away some of our freedom, which are mostly unreasonable. Are we ready to be subjected to be disciplined? Are we ready to put our acts together? Are we ready for the tough love? If we agree to all the questions, it means we’re ready to elect a leader like Lee Kuan Yew.

Letter from LBC Express

As I’ve said, it took awhile before I decided to write an email regarding the illegal acts of MAKATI EXPRESS in Al Khobar. They’re committing illegal acts because they’re using the LBC Brand without permission. They’re also misleading our fellow OFWs who are clueless that MAKATI EXPRESS is not in any ways connected with LBC.

Well, here’s an email I received from Team LBCs Customer Service Department in reply to my previous email to them.

From: Customercare@lbcexpress.com [mailto:Customercare@lbcexpress.com]

Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 10:35 PM

To: #####@gmail.com



LBC EXPRESS, INC.



Dear Mr. Ilonggo sa Desyerto,



Good day!

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email.



We would like to thank and appreciate you for your concern about the image of LBC. We wish to inform you that we will send a copy of your email to our LBC Marketing Department to conduct proper investigation about this incident. This is to avoid misleading our OFW's by using the name of LBC in the business of the said Makati Express which is not an official partner of our company.



Thank you once again and we hope to be of service to you in the future.

Respectfully Yours,



Jenny D. Villanueva

Customer Associate

LBC Express, Inc.

General Aviation Center, Domestic Airport Compound

Domestic Road, Pasay City 1300, Philippines

Courier & Remittance : 858-5999

PRC / Express Assistance : 854-4848

Flowers Express : 855-0000

Express Regalo : + 18774425544

Australia Cargo & Remit : + 1300522000

EMail Address: customercare@lbcexpress.com

URL: http://www.lbcexpress.com

Patisserie Jareer in Al Khobar

The weather is much tolerable than before so I decided that I won’t take a cab anymore. Well, not exactly, occasionally I do take the cab. I did it for the past four (4) weeks with my officemate and it’s great. My officemate and I would take a leisurely walk from Silver Tower to downtown Al Khobar that would last for about an hour. The great thing in walking is that you’d get to see a lot of shops and meet a lot of people. We have discovered a small pastry shop called ‘Patisserie Jareer’ at the King Abdulaziz Road. The Kabayans (Nestor and Jun) who work there told us that they have several branches in Riyadh and the branch here in King Abdulaziz Road is their first venture in the Eastern Province. I am fond of the cakes and desserts of Saaddideen but nothing can compare to the cakes, petit pours and desserts of ‘Patisserie Jareer’. You’d forget your name once you get to eat their cakes.

I’ve attached some of the photos I’d taken from Patisserie Jareer. I have to warn you that the photos does not justify the beauty and taste of their sweets.

The overly ambitious Loren

My respect for Loren Legarda was totally wiped out when she showed her true political color during the 2004 Presidential Elections. She knows that she won’t get the nod of the ruling coalition for her nomination to the VP position so she bolted out and declared her candidacy with the FPJ group. She lost to Noli de Castro, her former colleague at the ABS CBN. She then filed an electoral protest against Noli but lost. She knows that she lost but publicly declared that she’s dropping her electoral protest in order to run for the Senate at the 2007 mid-term elections


Her KAPLASTIKAN made her a TRAPO. I still could not forget the way she cried when the majority of the Senators voted not to open the envelope during Erap’s impeachment proceeding. She was instrumental to Erap’s downfall yet her ambition forced her to sell herself to Erap just to get Erap’s blessings. She then became a PGMA harshest critic, an obstructionist opposition senator who loves to grandstand. I could also not forget that she dumped her husband, former Batangas Governor Leviste when the Ex-Governor’s name was tarnished by a murder case. She doesn’t want anything to do with people that couldn’t help her, even if it means dumping her own husband.

About 3-4 months ago, she declared her presidency at the Maldives. Although surveys are really unreliable especially in the Philippines, she’s not topping the surveys. That’s the reason why she slid down to the Vice Presidency through her own party NPC. I just hope that Gibo would not take her as his running mate. Gibo is better off without her.

Sleeping Pilots

There’s a heated argument about the two pilots in a US major airline who were apparently sleeping during the flight. US TV networks were first to point fingers and accuse the two pilots of negligence. It’s a little alarming because there were over a hundred passengers on board during that flight. However, news should never be exaggerated just to gain audience share. Nowadays, the airline technology is advanced and airplanes have auto pilot control. If the pressure or the plane drops from its altitude, an alarm will be triggered and that would wake up the pilots from deep slumber.


Things like these only get to be on the news because of the absence of good stories.

Goodbye Gen

After almost 10 months of abandoning my Friendster account, I finally found time to update my profile and pictures. It was also there that I learned that on Sunday, 18 October 2009, Genalyn Rodriguez – Basa of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, passed away after battling abdominal cancer for almost a year. Gen’s baby brother Ryan posted a shout out saying that he’ll miss her Ate and that he’s praying that his Ate’s soul is with her Creator. There’s something weird with Ryan’s shout out so I rushed and called him on his mobile phone. He confirmed that indeed, his Ate Gen passed away. The line got cut off so I called Raul, Gen’s younger brother who happens to be my classmate at the Sun Yat Sen High School. The mobile phone was answered by Raul’s wife Rosette. Raul was already in Iloilo preparing for Gen’s burial.


I decided to wait for another day before calling Raul. Raul’s one of my best buddy back in my High School days. We were classmates for 4 years. We use to call him ALOG since he came from Manila and could barely speak Hiligaynon. He was our Corps Commander at the C.A.T. Raul’s been a good friend to me. We parted ways after graduating High School. Ryan was only 5 or 6 years old and was at a Kindergarten at that time.

About two years ago, Gen initiated a contact with me through the help of the social networking site Friendster. She was kind enough to introduce herself saying that she’s Raul’s elder sister and that she’s a dentist in Riyadh. I added her, Raul and then Ryan to my list of friends. Early last year Ryan got a job offer here in Dammam. The last time that I spoke to Gen, she told me that she underwent an operation back home. She only said that she’s been having problems with her ovaries and that she may not be able to bear a child. I never really thought that it was cancer and that serious because she came back to Riyadh right after the operation.

According to Raul, Gen adopted a baby early this year. About two months ago, she went back to the Philippines for a routine check up in Manila. It was there that the doctors found out that her cancer relapsed. The tumor already spread in her intestines and its squeezing her internal organs. They were told that she’ll not live longer so they decided to bring her back to Iloilo. Raul said that Gen fought for another 2 weeks before finally succumbing to cancer.

It was sad losing somebody who is a gentle soul. I pray that she’s happy wherever she may be. To Gen, God bless your soul. May you rest in peace. Gen’s body will be laid to rest in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo on Tuesday, 27 October 2009.

‘Don’t waste water’

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that staying in the shower for more than 3 minutes is not a revolutionary act and must be condemned. It’s Chavez way of saying to his people (Venezuelans) to conserve water. The Venezuelan leader also says that he himself does not stay in the shower for more than 3 minutes and he doesn’t smell.

Water is a precious resource yet we (people) tend to ignore its relevance until we encounter drought. You won’t know the value of water unless you’re in the drought devastated Africa and in the arid lands of the Middle East. Venezuela is specifically vulnerable to polluted water supply because of its oil industry. It also suffers deforestation that affects its watersheds. The current global warming that contributed to erratic weather disturbances and droughts does not only affect Venezuela but practically all the countries around the world.

I admire Hugo Chavez (For the record, I have always been a Chavez follower ever since) for heading the call to conserve water. I only wish that Filipinos could elect a leader similar to Chavez who knows how to discipline his people.

In Retrospect

The series of typhoons that devastated our nation is just God’s way of saying that we’re vulnerable creatures. We could die any moment, our properties and livelihoods destroyed. We may shed tears on the losses that we incurred but they’re just material things and we can earn it back. The greatest lost are the lives of our family members who were cut short.


In a way, the devastating events are a good start to contemplate on things. It teaches us that in this world, nothing lasts forever. Our status, rides (cars), cribs (mansions), money, and influence could just go on the drain when we least expect it. It’s a good time to start preparing our souls. We should always be ready to face our creator regardless of our religious upbringing.

We are a resilient nation. In time, with each other’s help, we’ll recover. This tragedy only proves that Filipinos could unite for the greater good. I just hope that by now our hypocrites at the Catholic Church (particularly the Bishops, Priest and Nuns) have realized their mistakes and repent. What they did was casting stones to our politicians, plotting instability and enriching themselves at the expense of the people. It’s time that they should be there to support the spiritual growth of their flock and totally stop politicking. As for our politicians, they should prioritize the common good over their selfishness. For us people, we should care for our nature more than anything in this world. The earth is the only place we live in. We should love it and treat it with respect. We’ve done horrible things to our home. Now, we are facing backlash of nature and we’re helpless.

Misleading Courier Service in Al Khobar

They’re misleading people! they’re bad and they know it. I was referring to Makati Express that uses LBC to entice people to use their services. I used Makati Express last year to send my cargo and the cargo was received on time without a glitch. I was so happy that this year I decided to use their services again. When my cargo was picked up from my flat, the courier guy assured me that LBC is gonna deliver my cargo. They also assured me that an air cargo would only take 20 days to deliver. My cargo was not delivered on time. It took them 35 days to deliver it. I followed up at the Makati Express and they told me that my cargo was routed to Cebu through a certain Ms. Mona. I asked Makati Express why they’re not sending my cargo through LBC, they just told me flatly that LBCs closed its Manila Operation. I waited for my shipment and was disappointed when it was delivered by a guy riding a commuter jeepney. Their counterpart doesn’t even have a delivery truck of their own. I ended up receiving shipments with broken bottles. My mother was so upset since it was the first time that our shipment was delivered using a commuter jeepney.

My sister said that I should not be upset since I received my shipment. She said that I should not make a big deal out of it. I would not be critical of their services if they (Makati Express) had informed me earlier that LBCs not delivering my shipment. Have I known earlier, I wouldn’t have sent my shipment through them! I would have an option to send my shipment to other courier services. I wouldn’t have expected and followed up at the LBC branch like an idiot. That was precisely the reason why the guy from Makati Express could not give me the LBC Airwaybill Number. It’s because they are not anymore sending their shipments through LBC.

If they are not misleading their customers, what do you call that? There are Filipinos out there who have no idea and thinks that their hard earned packages are in the good hands. Little did they know that Makati Express was just fooling them. I called Makati Express when I arrived from my vacation last month and I expressed my disappointment. There was no remorse from their end. They did not even apologize to me. It simply means that they don’t care just as long as they will continue their business.

I am attaching the photos that I took last Thursday just to prove that Makati Express is still using LBCs name.

Dirty Old Politics

Election season is fun because politicians become comedians. They’re calling each other names, not just names, but cruel and unimaginable names. I once thought that name calling can only be witnessed in the Philippines but its far worst in the States. There are politicians who would even buy an airtime just to say bad words against their opponent. Since the political culture in the Philippines is patterned from the States, we Filipinos do it better, and more colorful than our American cousins.


In the olden days, character demolitions are only done on the podium during political rallies. Sometimes, politicians would spark an ugly rumor against their opponents. The advent of new technology changes the ballgame. The internets’ file sharing and social networking sites such as you tube, face book and Friendster just added more drama to the already colorful political culture in the country. One of the best examples of the political gimmickry is the uploading of a video or a slideshows of the political opponents calling them as Trapos (Traditional Politicians) or other vile adjectives. The most common of all is the ‘SCANDALS’ a major candidate.

We’ll expect more of this kind of stuff in the coming election. However, we should not forget that the voters will still determine who wins in the election.

Extraordinary Donations

A week on and people are still suffering from the aftermath of the devastating flood. It hit not only the Metropolis but also the neighboring provinces particularly the Northern Luzon. Yesterday, I come across an article asking for extraordinary donations in the form of Condoms and Sanitary Napkins. Well, there are outpouring donations of canned goods, noodles and used clothing but (we) the donors never realized that the victims are also in need of sanitary pads. I think sanitary pads are one of the most important relief goods that should have been given for hygienic reasons. I don’t know what to think of when they mentioned condoms. It’s unbelievable since I don’t think people have time or a private place for sex at the evacuation centers. A welfare officer says that during the times of crisis, couples usually want the warmth of each other. If condoms are not available to them, they (couple) are at risk of unplanned pregnancies that would of course result to more misery.

The welfare officer is saying indirectly that Filipinos are really horny (Malibog) people. When ‘Libog’ sets in, we don’t care where we are just as long as we can release it. Not even an evacuation center can prevent us from copulating. Of course, the most ‘gas-gas’ justification for that is that ‘We’re Only Human’. That excuse brought us to where we are right now, 95 Million Filipinos.

In a way, the welfare officer is right and I agree with him/her 100%. It’s better to make the condoms available at the evacuation centers. If they have time, they could also introduce the Reproductive Health program of the government (if they have one, that is). It may curve our population growth, a little.

Acts of Men

In times of crisis, emergencies or tragedy, why do we always blame God? We call these tragedies as Acts of God. Is it because God could not defend himself? Is it because he is not a member of a political party that has no spokesperson? The hypocrites in the Philippine Church particularly the Bishops, Priests and Nuns are not God’s spokespersons. They will of course claim to be God’s people for their prey, the hopeless Filipino people who have nowhere to go.




We often hear Acts of God otherwise known as fortuitous event otherwise known as force majeure in our Insurance Agents. I’ve learned about these things when I was taking Business Law classes during my college days.



The current tragedy in our country that brought about devastating effects to people and properties are in fact acts of men, not acts of God. They were acts of men because the carbon emissions of the developed and developing countries are the main causes of the Global Warming. The Global Warming on the other hand is the main culprit of the erratic weather disturbances that in turn caused disasters. The sad thing is that, developing countries that cause the Global Warming are not directly affected to weather disturbances. It’s always the third world countries who are the directly affected by these man-made calamities. Third world countries that mostly rely on agricultural industry are vulnerable to long drought and heavy rains that cause flooding.



Flooding are an act of men since the flood happens because of, lack of political will from our politicians that indirectly causes clogged drainage (because of shanty houses and garbage), illegal structures at the major waterways and flood drain.



Times are changing. The waters will recede in time, but it doesn’t mean that it will not happen again. It’s about time that we should own up to our mistakes and take responsibilities for our actions. It’s the only way that we could change and move forward as a nation.

Obama the Nobel Laureate

I was watching Al Jazeera yesterday when suddenly the anchor announced that Obama was named the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. I was so shocked in disbelief. I am not an Obama fan and my reaction would always be negative towards everything he does. The announcement of the Nobel Prize committee generated several comments and it looks like I am not the only one against it. The Noble committee says that they placed importance on Obama’s commitment towards peace.

The thing is, Obama is barely 9 months in the office and he and his administration had been criticized that they could only write good speeches and rhetoric but could not deliver. Obama in fact decided to increase the US troop deployment in Afghanistan. North Korea on the other hand is still not willing to rejoin the 6 nation talks while Iran could not give up their nuclear or whatever weapons of mass destructions they are hiding. To his credit however, his softening stand towards Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and even North Korea it’s quite opposite to the policies of George Bush, the world’s most hated man.

Past winners of Nobel Peace Prize such as Mohammed Younus of Bangladesh and Former US Vice President Al Gore both deserve to receive their awards because they were able to deliver. Obama on the other hand has not delivered anything except for his well delivered speeches. Even Obama himself admitted that it’s too premature for him receive such an award. If he’s really sincere on his proclamation, he should refuse the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize could also work against him in so many ways given the political climate in the States. This absurd decision and the selection process of the Nobel Prize committee will definitely hurt their credibility.

I’m JCs Ninong

Baptism is the most important of all the sacraments because it’s the first of the seven sacraments in Catholic faith. The Universal Church believes that baptism washes away and removes our original sin. It allows us to enter heaven. That is the reason why babies are baptized as soon as they are born.

As posted earlier, I was invited by my Kumpareng Bro to be the Ninong of his second son JC. I have to go through the seminar that the parish is giving for the would be Ninong. The seminar’s content is a review of the Theology 101 – Orientation to Christian living course that I took from the University of San Agustin. As Ninong, I was tasked to answer in the child’s behalf the profession of faith. Profession of faith otherwise known as the apostle’s creed will be recited by the priest during the baptism. The baptism revolves on symbolisms like the white garment that the child is wearing for purity. The Oil of Catechumens that symbolizes that the baptized child belongs to the God and heaven. The water symbolizes the washing away of the original sin. The Sacred Chrism symbolizes that when the child is anointed with it, he is now a Christian. The baptism candle stands for the light to the world of Christ.

I jokingly told Nonoy, a good friend and kumpare of mine that if ever we’re going to have a falling out, we should return our candles. Yong saulian ng kandila that usually happens when two of the kumpares would fight over something.

It’s good feeling to be invited to be a child’s godparent. I was so thankful that Kumpareng Bro and Kumareng Sis gave me the opportunity to be JCs Ninong. I promised them that I’m going to be the best Ninong in the world.

Flood, Tsunami and Earthquake

I attended a mass at the Aramco yesterday and noticed that in the reading of the prayer intentions, the priest mentioned the victims of the recent flooding in Manila. I was touched by the generosity of the parish but also questioned why the victims of the South Pacific Tsunami and the Indonesian Earthquake were not mentioned in the prayer intention.

Like Filipinos, the people of the South Pacific (particularly the Islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga) and Indonesia also suffered mass devastation and they also need our prayers and aid. Was Indonesia left out because it’s a Muslim country?

In times of disasters, we’re all equal. Death could come knocking to anybody’s door. Hunger could strike to everyone. I understand that the Filipino’s resources are exhausted. We’re at the point where we could only do so much. However, if we have nothing else to give, we can still pray. And prayer is the only thing that our brothers in Indonesia and the South Pacific are asking. Let’s not be selfish and include them in our prayers.

Rio de Janiero to host 2016 Olympics

Its official, Brazil’s Rio de Janiero won the rights to host the 2016 games. It’s going to be the first Olympic Games to be held in the South American Continent. Rio’s victory came as a surprise since other candidate cities such as Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago are tough competitors.

Rio’s candidacy focused in an argument stressing that previous games were never held in the South American continent. It was unlikely that Tokyo would be awarded the hosting since it was only recently that Beijing hosted the Games. The lukewarm reception of the Tokyo residents did not help its candidacy either. Although Madrid already build stadiums and sent their reigning monarch to campaign, it also did not help their candidacy for obvious reasons that London is hosting the 2012 games. As for Chicago, people there are campaigning for Rio to win fearing that the Olympic Games will only exacerbate the prices of the real estate in the City. Chicago’s defeat is a big slap on Obama’s face. It just shows that he is just a good talker but couldn’t close a deal.

The 2016 Olympics is going to be another exciting game. I hope that the Philippine Olympic Team would finally relent to the pressures of the public to drop their Olympic dreams altogether. There’s no chance that a Filipino athlete would be able to get an Olympic gold unless our sports governing bodies and our government gives full support for our athletes training.