RAFI Triennial Awards calls on entries for blogging contest

To promote the inspiring stories and work of recognized development workers in the Visayas and Mindanao, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) is calling on individuals between 13 and 35 years old based in the Visayas and Mindanao to join the RAFI Triennial Awards Blogging Contest.

The contest highlights the RAFI Triennial Awards and its awardees and finalists. Guided by the theme, “Shaping the big picture of change”, entrants are expected to do background research on the lives and works of RAFI Triennial awardees and finalists nearest their area.

The RAFI Triennial Awards is an awards program of RAFI given every three years to recognize the philanthropic, humanitarian, and holistic efforts of individuals and institutions in the Visayas and Mindanao in enhancing the quality of life of the communities they serve. It is now on its 5th run with conferment of awards in 2012.

To join the RAFI Triennial Awards Blogging Contest, individuals should register through www.rafi.org.ph. Entrants must have an existing and updated blog for at least six months.

All blog entries must be original and written in English, with a minimum of 1,000 words and maximum of 4,000 words. Entries should not have been entered or won in previous competitions. Writers must at the end of their blogs indicate, "This is an official entry to the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Triennial Awards Blogging Contest." and include a link to the RAFI website.

The criteria for judging include 50 percent for content (originality and alignment to the theme and research value) and 50 percent for writing style or composition (including technicalities).

A contest participant is allowed a maximum of three blogs that feature different awardees and finalists.

After posting their entries on their blogs, entrants should email application form, URL of the blog post, and electronic copy of at least one valid ID to ellen.red@rafi.org.ph with the subject header: Entry to the RAFI Triennial Awards Blogging Contest.

The blogging contest started last Sept. 30. Deadline for the submission of blog entries is Dec. 15, 2011.

Entrants must ensure that their blogs are accessible until winners are declared in January 2012.

First prize winner will receive Php 25,000; second prize Php 20,000; and third prize Php 15,000. All entries of winners and finalists will be consolidated and published into a book.

For more information on the RAFI Triennial Awards and to check on the awardee or finalist nearest you, visit www.rafi.org.ph.

For more information, please contact:

EVELYN NACARIO-CASTRO

Executive Director

Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

35 Lopez Jaena St., Cebu City

landline: (63 32) 418-7234 loc. 104

email: Evelyn.Nacario@rafi.org.ph

Hike on Saudi Arabian Housing Rate

It was reported weeks ago that the Shoura Council, the legislative body of the Kingdom of the Sands, is thinking of revising its Housing Allowance policy for the State sector workers. Surprisingly, not all government sector workers are given Housing Allowance, unlike most of workers in the private sector. Some of those who are not given are the unmarried women.

This is where the problem starts. The Real Estate sector in the Kingdom of the Sands is thinking of increasing the rents should this proposal be approved. They don’t seem to care that the increase will only be for the government workers and not the private sector workers. The same situation happened in 2008 when both the Saudi government gave away 20% inflationary increase in salaries for the government sector workers. The prices of the basic commodities and the house rent increased drastically that the Private sector was forced to give away 20% inflationary increase in the salaries for the private sector workers. I hope that when that happens, the private sector will be perceptive enough and do more. It wouldn’t be good for an average white collar employee to subsidize his house rent. It would definitely cut down his earnings. If that happens, there’s no point in working away from home, especially if the white collar worker is a South East Asian Expat, considered as, Third Country National (TCN).

If you’re an average white collar employee who’s only expecting a 5% increase in your salary at the beginning of the year, you’ll be subsidizing your house rental. In reality, the 5% increase in salary is not really an increase but an inflationary increase because although you’ve gained 5%, the commodities also increased.

I believe that regardless if the proposal of the Shoura Council is approved or not, the Real Estate sector has already made up its mind. In the case of my apartment, for the 3 years that I’ve stayed there, I have never encountered any water shortage, never. Recently, and strangely, we’ve encountered several water cut-offs. The Real Estate office could not explain it and when asked about it, they’ll be in a defensive mode. D, a friend of mine who also lives in the same apartment building that I stay in, said that it’s their way of forcing us to move out so that they can increase the rent. If you can’t bear the pressure of having no water, you’ll leave, they win. Mark, a friend who works for Abdulla Fouad Holding Company couldn’t bear the water shortage any longer that he decided to move out last Wednesday. I think I’ll also follow him at the month’s end.

Utak wang wang!

This is the problem with the present Abnoy Administration. They think that it’s alright to call their political enemies names, yet they absolved themselves of any wrongdoings. They think that they’re hollier than thou and people should see them as Saints, incapable of doing bad.

So ito na nga, they labeled the previous administration’s excesses as ‘Utak wang wang’, yet they and their cohorts are guilty of their own accusations. Just recently, Presidential Adviser Ronaldo Llamas’ escort details met an accident and were caught carrying high powered ammunitions and several handguns. The three headed hydra in Malacañang right away issued a press statement that the guns were licensed. It was discovered that the statement was a lie since bodyguards are not permitted to carry high powered ammunition, just handguns. The high powered ammunitions have no license and the security escort of Llamas refused any inspection from the MMDA and the Police. They also refused to hand over their guns to the Police.

Lacierda claimed that the Presidential Adviser is not liable because the guns were licensed, which in reality were not. When quizzed why they were able to get a license for the high powered ammunitions, Lacierda could not explain it. He just absolved Llamas right away because he’s President Abnoy’s KKK. Lacierda also justified that the Office of the Security Adviser is a very sensitive position that he requires high powered ammunitions. So, talaga lang ha? Akala ko ba this administration is against the culture of wang wang? Bakit yong mga kaalyado ni Pangulong Abnoy na nag aabuso ay abswelto kaagad?

So here we go again, the Communications Group will right away absolved people who are connected with the current administration. If that’s not an ‘Utak Wang Wang’, then I don’t know what you call it. George Bush used to say that ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’ In President Abnoy’s case, if you’re not yellow enough, you’re utak wang wang. As always, Lacierda and the Lady Gaga in Malacañang – Valte were always quick in denying abuses of their cohorts even when they’re already in an embarrassing situation. What a bunch of hypocrites!

Philippine eagle, shot dead

A report says that the two year old female Philippine eagle that was captured last May 2010 and was released back into the wild was shot dead. The Philippine Eagle Foundation tagged the bird of prey with a transmitter that enabled the foundation to track it down.

The news is heartbreaking because the Philippine eagle is an endangered species, meaning that in a few years, they could perish forever. We may only be able to see them through the films and pictures. The incident can be summed up to one thing, our inability to care. The trigger happy person who shot the Philippine Eagle has no idea what he did. I am sure that he doesn’t even regret doing what he did to the helpless bird.

We have a very beautiful country with abundance of nature but we just don’t know how to appreciate and respect beauty. We abuse nature and that’s the reason why nature is punishing us. When we’re helpless with nature’s unforgiving punishments, we cry for help, yet never learned from our mistakes.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation has been education people not only in Davao area of the importance of the eagle in our consciousness as a nation. It’s ironic however that the eagle was shot in Davao. It simply means that the PEF has to exert more effort in educating people in the nearby areas. We commend the PEF for all their efforts but more should be done in disseminating information on how we could protect the Philippine Eagle. I acknowledge the fact that PEF cannot be solely responsible in protecting our eagles. We ordinary citizens can do our share by educating our fellow Filipinos. The Philippine eagle is part of our national identity. We should treasure them.

Miriam to start campaign for ICC at The Hague

This is a news report that I’ve taken in toto relating to the Ilonggo Senator's bid to the ICC.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, the Philippines’ candidate as judge to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that prosecutes war crimes and gross human rights violations, had sought support for her candidacy at the tribunal’s headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands.

Santiago began her week-long visit with a courtesy call on ICC president Sang-hyun Song last Sept. 26, followed by meetings with ICC Registrar Silvana Arbia and Judge Kuniko Ozaki.

She also held one-on-one meetings with the ambassadors of ICC state parties and spent the next two days meeting with civil society groups.

The Hague is home to the ICC, an independent international body, separate from the United Nations system, and the first permanent international court that deals specifically with the gravest crimes facing humanity.

Elections for the six vacant seats for judges of the ICC will be held on December 12-21, during the Tenth Session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York.

In her meetings, Santiago shared her views on some challenges facing the ICC such as state cooperation and increasing the budget of the court to enable it to fulfill its mandate.

“The court must continue with what it is doing: building itself as an efficient and professional international organization, functioning as a credible international court and holding itself as a purely judicial, objective, non-political and neutral institution,” Santiago said.

The ICC has been active since 2002 and most of the cases referred to the court have been from the African countries of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.

Any state leader, member of national legislature, or government official at a similarly high level could be investigated and prosecuted by the ICC if he/she commits core crimes under the tribunal’s jurisdiction like war crimes or genocide.

Roxas eyeing 2013 house speakership

Mar Roxas and Jejomar Binay

Sore loser Mar Roxas was reportedly eyeing the 2013 house speakership to start his bid for the 2016 presidential elections. Roxas will fight against the incumbent Feliciano Belmonte who will run for a fresh mandate in 2013. Sabi nga nila, hindi masamang mangarap. Well, Roxas can dream all he wants but it doesn’t mean that he’ll win. The reality is he still lost to Jejomar Binay to the VP race. He will again lose Jejomar Binay in the 2016 presidential election, mark my word.

Toto, a family friend of mine from Capiz said that nobody really voted for Roxas in Capiz. In fact, it was Jejomar Binay who won in the Province of Capiz. Roxas just claimed that he hails from Capiz yet he really is absent all the time. He is based in Manila and even look down on the Capizeños. Why won’t he, his mother is from the aristocratic Araneta family. I don’t think they’ll like being associated with the people from Capiz whom they considered bariotic.

One of the reasons why Roxas lost in the 2010 elections was because he’s BASTOS. Remember the cursing incident at a rally in Makati where he cursed at PGMA? People have not forgiven him because of that. People’s expectations from him were shattered. They thought that as a US educated man, coming from a pedigree family, he won’t be capable of cursing. And guess what? He can curse and swear like hell. That disappointed many people and that kept them from voting for him. That’s a good thing. We don’t need politicians who are not just matapobre but bastos pa!

As for Roxas’ plans in running for the speakership of the house, well he can dream on. He has to make sure though that he’ll first win the congressional seat in Capiz. Capizeños are not so fond of him so, Good luck to him.

Typhoon Damage at Php. 7 Billion

Shamcey's 'Tsunami Walk'

There’s a joke that says that Shamcey Supsup’s ‘Tsunami Walk’ really brought the typhoon Pedring and Quiel to the Philippine area of responsibility. I say, we shouldn’t blame it on the Shamcey’s ‘Tsunami Walk’. She made us all proud and I know that won’t mean any harm.

Reports says that the extensive damaged caused by the two typhoons that hit our country could reach up to the whooping Php. 7 Billion. The severely affected are the rice production, crops and the fishery sector. The Abnoy administration should revise its 2012 budget which was hastily passed at the lower house.

I suggest that the 29 Billion cash dole out for the CCT project of the Abnoy Administration be rechanneled to support farmers and build the damaged infrastructures. Our government should spend on the rebuilding and rehabilitation. This way, people will have way to earn a living. Unlike dole outs, people will earn money with dignity. Dole outs will only make them lazy and mendicant. We’ve launched CCT program last year and even the corrupt peace bond scam lady, DSWD secretary Dinky Soliman could not properly account.

US Embassy Drowned

The saddest part was that during the devastation, President Abnoy was nowhere to be found. The lady gaga in Malacañang said that the president doesn’t want to be the center of attention during the calamity. That’s wrong since people expect him to be there. If he can’t provide immediate assistance, he can inspire people. I think that Abnoy’s alipores in Malacañang are just making excuses. The then PGMA was always there when calamity strikes to supervise relief and emergency operations. She’s always on top of the game and people expect her to. We’re still a centralized government and people look up to the presidency in times of calamity. President Abnoy will not leave the comfort of Malacañang palace, playing online games with his special nephew Joshua.

The flooding caused by Pedring and Quiel has started the blame game. We blame ourselves, everyone and the government. Unfortunately, we haven’t learned our lessons from the past. It still boils down to the abuses that we made to our environment. We throw garbage everywhere clogging the waterways. We also cut down trees without replanting. We need to change people. If we don’t we’ll be doomed.

Typhoon damage estimated at Php. 100 M

The cost of devastation by both typhoons Pedring and Quiel was estimated to be close to Php. 100 M. If you can remember, President Abnoy donated USD. 1 M to a rich country, Japan. USD. 1 M is equivalent to Php. 50 M. If only he is capable of thinking, which he is not, he would have realized that the USD. 1 M is better spent with his constituents.

We are a third world country and we should not pretend to be somebody that we are not. Everyone knows our status. We should admit that we’re poor. The Japanese knows that we’re poor but they’re just too nice to refuse our donation. There’s no use bragging by donating a huge amount of money from the tax payer’s pockets. It would have been better if the money comes from President Abnoy’s own pocket. Unfortunately, it comes from the Filipino people.

There are ways to express our sympathy to the victims of the Japanese tsunami. We could send health care workers such as doctors and nurses. We could also send one unit of our Armed Forces to help the cleanup. But our President is incapable of thinking out of the box. And may I remind President Abnoy that we should help first ourselves before we help others. There’s nothing wrong with being generous but we should always ask ourselves if we can afford to be generous.

The flooding and heavy rains destroyed the livelihoods of the farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture says that they could not reach their target rice production for this year because of the calamity. This is one of the reasons why our farmers could not go out from the cycle of poverty. Scientists believed that the unpredictability of the weather is caused by the global warming. President Abnoy should make disaster preparedness and climate change initiatives a priority in his administration.