Sex Tourism

You don’t have to be a Magna Cum Laude and First Placer in the Architectural Board Exam to know that most of the tourists visit the Philippines for sex. You don’t even have to be the Ambassador of the United States to know that. It’s an open secret and that’s the ground reality. Tourists visit our country not to visit the WORLD OF WONDERS or the Wow Philippines for that matter. They visit our country for sexcapades, period. Sexcapades nga mga pinoy, how much more mga tourist na may mga pera.

President Abnoy’s Tourism Secretary and his Presidential Spokesperson (Lady Gaga of Malacañang) are questioning the accuracy of the data of US Ambassador Harry Thomas. They’re in denial, period. As mentioned, it’s an open secret. Everyone knows it. Maybe they’re thinking that it’s not happening because of President Abnoy’s ‘Daang Matuwid’ ek-ek.

Ambassador Harry Thomas was right when he said that 40% of the male tourists coming to the Philippines are here for sex. As a US Ambassador to the Philippines however, it’s a diplomatic blunder. Regardless, he was right and he will always be unless we do something to correct the situation.

This is the right time for our publicity hungry Senators to conduct hearings in aid of re-elections, este, in aid of legislation pala. They can invite resource people from the hospitality industry, the local police and the suspected pimps. Unfortunately, this kind of Senate inquiry will not put them in the front cover of any Tabloids or Tabloids pretending to be broadsheets? ABiaS CBN will not cover it either. They’re more interested if the subject of the inquiry is the former PGMA and her family.

There’s no use denying the existence of prostitution because of the tourism. The most proactive thing that our government could do is to create laws and monitor its enforcement.

President Abnoy donated USD 1 Million to Japan

President Abnoy donated USD 1 Million for the reconstruction of a local city hall in Japan devastated by the tsunami. I would like to believe that the intention is to be generous. But can we really afford it? Can we, a third world country, really really really afford it?

The Japanese people know that we’re poor and we’re better off using that money to other worthwhile projects for our own people. But they’re nice people and they will not tell it in our faces. Hence, they accepted the donation, with heavy heart, I guess.

I remembered when the Cotabato was flooded because of the Water Lily. President Abnoy went there without bringing any aid. He read his speech saying not to expect too much from him (the presidency) because he’s barely one year in the office. After reading his speech he help the Mayor of the City distribute goods which were prepared by the City. When the president and his entourage left the City, the Mayor and the LGU complained that the president did not bring any aid. President Abnoy was embarrassed by the Mayor’s statement that he even verbally abused the Mayor, calling him a liar. It was found out eventually that Abnoy’s DSWD secretary, the Peace Bond scam girl, did distribute the aid through the Congressman and the Vice Mayor who are allied to President Abnoy. Because of their politicking, the aid did not reach the people.

President Abnoy could not even help the people from Cotabato, yet, he donated USD 1 Million to the Japanese. I don’t know what his intentions are but I hope it’s noble. I’d like to believe that it’s good but I smelled something fishy. And I don’t buy the ‘Daang Matuwid’ and they’re ‘Malinis’. Abnoy and his alipores are the same.

Tropical Storm Pedring is wrecking havoc in our country right now. There will be deaths, displaced, and other things that our government should be concerned about. The USD 1 Million will come a long way if President Abnoy spends it for his people. What he’s doing is a misplaced priority. He can be generous but he has to start at home.

President Abnoy trampling Judicial Independence

President Abnoy, his cohorts in Congress and the yellow zombies still believe that they have the monopoly of goodness. Now they’ve gotten worst. They want to trample the constitution and still want people to believe that they’re just cleaning the bureaucracy and they’re doing it for the good of the country. There is nothing wrong with being a reformist government but they should make sure that their reforms are within the law.

The issue started when the Abnoy government wants to take control of the Judiciary’s P1.25- billion fund for unfilled positions, saying it would release the funds only when new personnel were hired. SC Chief Justice Renato Corona warned that this violated the Court’s fiscal autonomy that was constitutionally guaranteed.

Because their proposed budget maybe declared as unconstitutional, Abnoy’s allies in the House of Representatives are now threatening to impeach the Justices who would vote for the unconstitutionality of the proposed law. Prior to that, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman issued a statement that they would question before Supreme Court the stripping of the P1.25 billion Judiciary fund.

Like any other proposals of President Abnoy, the proposed law is bound to be junked by the Supreme Court. I believe that SC will insist on its independence. I don’t think that the mud sliding and PR war waged against them by Pres. Abnoy’s government will affect them. This is the beauty of democracy.

GoHotels.Ph Review

Bed @ gohotels.ph

When I was planning my vacation, I intended to stay in Kabayan Hotel because they’re reasonably priced. When I booked online however, there were no rooms available. I have no other choice but to look for an alternative hotel. I remembered reading an article regarding a new hotel venture that the Gokongwei’s are into. I then searched the internet and found their website. So I decided to book with gohotels.ph at the Cybergate Plaza along EDSA Mandaluyong.

The price range is as affordable as that of the Kabayan Hotel and it looks clean too. I never hesitated to make a booking.

I booked for 3 nights (upon arriving in Manila 11-13 August) and another 2 nights (before leaving Manila 4-6 September). Booking with gohotels.ph is very easy as long as you have a credit card. Instantly a receipt of the transaction will be sent to your email including the electronic confirmation form.

You can also request the hotel for an airport pick up, just as long as you’re staying for more than 82 hours.

Rooms are priced at Php. 1,288 (+Taxes) per night. You may choose Queen Size or Double Bed depending on your needs. Gohotels.ph has AC, LCD TV, Wifi, Hot and Cold Shower, Bath Towels, Soap & Shampoo and a Safety Deposit Box as complement of your stay.

Actual Stay

Toilet @ gohotels.ph

I was not picked up by AVIS, the limousine company that gohotels.ph has a tie up. There was confusion in their arrangement that I was not able to avail of the services that I paid for. When I arrived at the hotel, the Hotel Manager just apologized to me but never offered any alternative solution, like for example, issuing a debit note to me. I did not insist since it was only Php. 625.00 and I earn more than that in the Kingdom of the Sands. It’s not fashionable to argue or create an argument for a very small amount of money. If I were to choose between the Php. 625.00 and my dignity, I’ll choose dignity.

When I arrived at the hotel I’ve noticed that the hotel lobby was very clean. It’s not well lighted and has no AC, however. I think they’re going green so I didn’t mind. The most important thing is that the place is clean. Check in time is at 2:00 PM so if you’re there earlier than the check in time, you’ll have to wait. You have to sign several papers before they’ll give you your Access Card. The drawback with the Access Card is that once you leave the room, the centralized AC will automatically shut down.

The Floors that serves for guests occupancy are the 5th and 6th. The 2nd and 3rd are for the parking spaces and Office spaces of Call Centers that renting in the Cybergate Plaza. Just like in the hotel lobby downstairs, the Elevators have no AC. I wasn’t surprised when there was also no AC at the 5th Floor Lobby. There were air vents and AC ducts so I assume that they’re just saving energy. I have no complaints since it’s all for our environment.

Shower @ gohotels.ph

I was given a room with a view on EDSA. I love the view and the room. The room is very clean and welcoming. It’s just that the Centralized AC could not really counter the heat of the sun that’s facing the window. I have no complaints because I slept well and was well rested because of the room.

The only disadvantage in checking in with gohotels.ph is that you’re not allowed to eat inside your room. You can eat your food at the 5th Floor Lobby or at the Cybergate Mall nearby. It’s not also for smokers because they ban smoking. They have smoke detectors everywhere. I am not a smoker so I don’t have problem with their regulation.

The location of gohotels.ph is along EDSA Mandaluyong. It’s very near to the Boni Station of the MRT. If you’re an OFW, it’s just a bus / MRT ride away from the POEA. The nearest mall is the Cybergate Mall, just beside Cybergate Plaza where gohotel is located. You can also go to Megamall through bus or just by walking. The only problem is if you want to go to Mall of Asia, it’s going to take a lot of time to get there. The airport is also farther but if you’re going to take the hotel limo, you’ll get there within 30 minutes.

Housekeeping is done from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM. You’ll be impressed because they’re very keen on cleanliness.

If I were to rate gohotels.ph, I’ll give it a 9/10.

What’s Sup?

Leila Lopes - Angola
Miss Universe 2011

Just like the Filipino nation, I’m also proud of Shamcey Supsup’s achievement in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2011 Pageant. Placing 3rd Runner up is not an easy task. Countries with strong delegates such as Venezuela, Colombia, and the USA did not even made it to the top 10. I was also delighted to learn that Shamcey Supsup earned the finalist slot through hard work and not through online voting. It was Portugal who won the online voting.

Shamcey was born an achiever. She graduated with honors and even topped the 2010 Architectural licensure examination. Binibining Pilipinas Pageant was her first and she won the right to represent our country in the Miss Universe Pageant. She made us all proud.

I know that there will be critics out there who will never be satisfied by Shamcey’s placement. To you guys, be thankful of Shamcey’s placement. It is not often that a Philippine delegate is given a chance to be in the Semi Finals. Let’s celebrate her winning and be proud of her. Let’s give her the love that we gave Venus Raj.

Filipinos are divided by religion, political belief and by regional affiliation. It’s not often that one Filipino can unite the nation. It used to be Manny Pacquiao, Venus Raj and now it’s Shamcey’s turn.

Congratulations to Shamcey Supsup, Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2011 and to Ms. Lea Salonga for being in the celebrity panel of judges.

---oo0oo-----



Shamcey Supsup
Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2011



Brazil is positioning themselves as the world leader in staging international events. They’ve spent millions of dollars in staging the Miss Universe 2011 Pageant. They’re scheduled to host the Olympic and the World Cup in the coming years.

Skinny and anorexic ladies were left out this year. I think the judges went to women with curves.

Shamcey Supsup is definitely a total package, beauty and brain.

Right time for Charter Change

Since President Abnoy says he’s not going to cling to power, I think now is the right time to propose for a Charter Change. It’s right because people will not think that he’ll use the Charter Change to further his political interest. Besides, if we’re going to change into a Parliamentary Form of Government, President Abnoy will never be voted by the MPs as the Prime Minister. He doesn’t have the leadership potential, period.

These are the points in the constitution that needs to be amended according to the Charter Change proponents:

1. From protectionist to Free Market Economic System.

2. From Centralized to Federal Administration.

3. From Presidential to Parliamentary System of Government.

The Philippines has been left behind by its neighbors because of our protectionist constitution that hindered investments in any form. The present government of President Abnoy does not help in our image because of him, we are known throughout the world as the country that does not honor contracts signed by previous administration. We have a long way to go before we can even compete.

We have proven that a centralized government never worked for us. The ugly side with the centralized government is that all development is concentrated only in the Imperial Manila. You’ll see progress in the big cities but the poor community in the other part of the country remained poor. If we are federalized, our leaders can formulate economic policies that will help attract investments in the region. We will also determine on how we could best use our resources.

The presidential system does not work for us. We need a total system overhaul. We’ve used it since our independence from the United States and it brought us to our current state, poverty. The United States has an interest why it wanted a Presidential form of government for the Philippines, it’s because it’s easier to deal with one person (in a presidential system). Whereas, it’ll have to deal with the ruling party and a lot of MPs (in a parliamentary system).

Cutting Budget on SUCs

Cutting the budget of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) makes it obvious that that the Administration of President Abnoy does not prioritize education. He instead wants to concentrate on giving a band aid solution to the problem of poverty in our country through his CCT program. Yes, it’s a band aid solution because it will never ease or get rid of the poverty in our country. I am very against the CCT program because it encourages the culture of mendicancy. People will not anymore work for their living because they’ll wait for their monthly stipend from the government. Instead of giving large chunks of its budgets on the CCT program, President Abnoy’s government should invest on infrastructure building that could pump up economic activity and create jobs for many.

However, President Abnoy has been underspending that triggered the economic slowdown. If he spent on infrastructure, he could have avoided building the culture of laziness in our society. As the philosophers would say, “Teach man how to fish and you’ll feed him for lifetime”. People should work for their bread and giving them money is not sustainable. There will be a question in the future on where they should get the taxes to sustain the CCT program. Unfortunately, there’s even a glitch in its implementation.

With the current trend of cutting the budgets for the SUCs, don’t be surprised if we have low quality of graduates. Our Universities could not even make it to the Top 100 Universities in the world anymore. The misplaced priorities of the current administration will not help either.

President Abnoy’s CCT program is his political tool to survive. It is his way of bribing the poor people to support his government. The problem with this program is that he’ll alienate the middle and the upper class tax payers. Remember, most of these poor people who are beneficiaries of the CCT programs do not pay taxes. Why reward individuals who do not pay taxes and punish the taxpaying citizens by giving them the burden of additional taxes.

Imposing ban on subsidy

The title is only suited for government funded projects but it some ways, it is also appropriate to my posting. Before leaving to the Philippines for my annual vacation, my sister Neneng Girl told terrible news. She said that my younger brother Nonoy has been asking money from my mother, quite often that she ended up having no money to buy her medicine. I’m a single guy and I don’t have a family to support. I however felt that I have a duty to my mother so I send her money on a monthly basis.

The purpose of that subsidy as they call it is for her to have money to buy her medicine, allowance for the household expenses and an emergency fund. When I learned from my sister that she has no money left in her bank account, I wasn’t upset actually but I felt that the purpose why the money was sent to her in the first place was defeated.

My younger brother was given 3 opportunities to earn a living but he blew them all out. My parents enrolled him to a Marine Engineering School but after four years of studying in a two year course program, he quit. When my Dad was still alive, he almost went to Taiwan to work there but took the placement fee and eloped with his girlfriend. Two years ago, he decided to go back to school but after a year quit decided to quit. He is now a family man with two kids to feed but has no income. He farmed the five hectares that my father gave him as a legacy but couldn’t afford the operating expenses of his farm.

This is where my mother enters the scene. She loves her youngest son too much that she felt that she had to support him. The problem is, she’s not just supporting Nonoy’s farm but she also supports the two children’s education. I was always against the idea of my mother supporting Nonoy’s children’s education. It’s not a grandparent’s responsibility to send their grandchildren to school, period. The parents had done their part in giving education to their children. If their children (in our case, Nonoy) did not study well, it’s not their fault. Even God said that he will help only those who help themselves. Nonoy has been so dependent and abusive to the point of dictating which school his children should be enrolled. I don’t know why he was so against sending his children to a public school when school is not an issue. Being sent to a private school is not a guarantee to success. Besides, there are so many successful people who only went to a public school. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is the best example of those sent to a public school but excelled. As for the farm, my mother gave money but during harvest, she never receives anything. The least that she could receive is returning the money that she gives away. However, nothing of that sort happened.

My mother is generous but because of that she was abused. How could a retiree who receives monthly pension from the government and from me lost all her money? She could not answer me where her money went. She’s still protecting her beloved youngest child. I’ve come up with the conclusion that the best way for me to deal with this issue is to stop her monthly subsidy. If I stop sending her the monthly subsidy, she’ll only have a pension. She will not be able to support Nonoy and his children. She’ll be forced to say no. I am doing this because I love her. I have to be cruel in order to be kind. I felt responsible for my mother that’s why I’m doing this.

My plan now is to still send the money but this time to my Sister Bam’s account. I told her to keep the money and save it for emergency. My mother is now 68 years old and we have to have money in case she’ll be hospitalized. It’s better that we have the money in hand rather than Nonoy spending them all.

Prayer and Thanksgiving

Redemptorist Church Baclaran

I consider this year’s annual vacation as very special. It’s the only time of the year where I get to rest and give thanks to our Almighty for all the blessings he has given me. I went through a very horrible experience but thanks to God, friends and my family, I was able to get through it.

My doctor said that it’ll take 2-3 months before my will get rid of all the medications that I took for at 9 months. It wasn’t easy, believe me, aside from being hospitalized, taking medication every day is a lot tougher. I was thankful that it was all over. I just hope that with God’s help, I will be healthier. I also promise that I’ll lead a healthy lifestyle.

I know, I’ve been a critic to the CBCP and the priests who wanted to meddle with politics. However, as a born catholic, I have no intentions of breaking away from my faith. I can express my belief in my own terms without necessarily agreeing to what the people of the church are dictating. So, when I arrived in Manila on 11 August, I made it a point of visiting Quiapo and Baclaran Churches. I went to Quiapo on a Friday so it was a jam-packed crowd. I murmured a prayer and then went out to visit the Black Nazarene to give thanks to all the blessings he has bestowed upon me. The following day I went to Baclaran Church to visit Our Mother of Perpetual Help. I also thanked her for the blessings. I never had an opportunity to attend a holy Eucharistic celebration at that time. I promised though that I will attend one before flying back to the Kingdom of the Sands.

I am very grateful and I owe it all to our Father. I thank him for all the blessings and I promised to be a good son. I know that being human is never an excused but nevertheless, I asked for his understanding and forgiveness. Lord, maraming maraming salamat po sa blessings.

911- A Decade On

A decade after the 911 twin tower bombing and I still believe that the US deserved to be bombed. My opinion may not be popular but that’s what I believed in and I’ll stand by my opinion. The US has been for several years prior to the bombing, been meddling with the affairs of other countries. They’ve waged war to those that they considered are not friendly to them. They’ve utilized their CIA to conduct covert operations to replace sovereign governments. They even went out of their way to influence the policies of sovereign nations. If there is discord, chances are, the US is involved.

The 911 incident should have humbled the United States but it never did. George Bush waged war in Iraq and Afghanistan to topple the so called terrorist. They never thought that Iraq and Afghanistan will be their headache. It was a good press for George Bush then, when he waged the war. Americans volunteered to be soldiers for the so called ‘patriotism’. However, fast forward 10 years, the Americans are exhausted. They are now experiencing the economic difficulties that they never imagined would happen.

The whole world is fed up with the blood bath and the senseless deaths that the US troops caused. In the later part of the Bush presidency, he wanted to involve other countries in his so called war on terror. Unfortunately, he never received an overwhelming support. The Philippines, treated as an unequal ally by the US, unequal because they never see us as equal to them, was forced to send troops to Iraq. PGMA however, pulled out the troops when a Filipino driver was abducted in Iraq. George Bush was upset when PGMA pulled out the Filipino troops and that explains all the bad press that PGMA received after that incident. Only the CIA has the capability to wire tap a presidential telephone line. Sources say that it was the CIA who leaked the ‘Hello Garci’ recording in order to bring down Gloria. It was also the CIA that funded destabilization campaign against her. Fortunately for our country and for PGMA, the AFP did not withdraw their support. Yes, that’s how the US works, covert and treacherous.