Here are another set pictures sent to us by Mr. Roberto Acevedo on what happened in Iloilo after Typhoon Frank hit the province.
If you have pictures on what happened in your province after Typhoon Frank hit the country, please do send it to us at my personal email kevinraychua@gmail.com.
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Before the event, I was in Hidden Valley, that's in Lamac, Pinamungajan, Cebu for a Leadership Traning Workshop together with my friends. The name of the place speaks for itself. It's really a hidden wonder! It's very far from the highway and mostly motorcycles for commuting called "habal-habal" are frequent in the area. Supposedly, the event was slated for June 28-29 but I really need to attend the bloggers' meet-up as promised. So, I cut short my attendance to the event. I rode a "habal-habal" at 10:30 AM but as we went along the road going to Lutopan, Toledo City, the motorcycle stopped for 5 times because of engine problems. I was pissed off! I got wet and dirty because of that. Even though I still didn't reached the Lutopan terminal, they dropped me in the market, which was 500 meters away, and told me to ride another motorcycle. Grrr!! What made me even more angry was that, they let me paid P100 instead of the negotiated payment of only P60! Then, when I arrived in the terminal, I waited for almost 30 minutes inside a V-Hire that would bring me back to the city. After almost 1 hour of the trip (I even slept), I arrived in One Citi-Link Terminal (the area where these V-Hires settle), I immediately went to V. Rama Avenue to ride a 12-L jeepney which passes by Fuente Osmeña. When I embarked from the jeepney, I walked from G. Garcia Street to Bo's Coffee Club. It was still 1:40 PM though, so I took a rest.
I attended the most-awaited meet-up (which was very successful) of Cebu and Davao bloggers here in Cebu. The informal event, held at Bo's Coffee Club in front of Cebu Doctor's Hospital at 2 PM, was organized by two of Davao's prominent bloggers, namely Blogie Robillo and Winston Almendras. Winston, Mark Monta and yours truly had already met before in SM and talked about the status quo of the Cebu Bloggers' Society. Though yesterday, Mark texted me that he can't attend the event. The event was the second that I attended. The first was the one with Ma'am Janette Toral.
The attendees, Wilson Ng, Paul Winston Villacorta, Xerxes Bernadez, Max Limpag, Aldrin Ponce, Rio Calle, Aileen Estoquia, Wilhelmina Sarawi, Mark Abitona, Rodelio Lagahit, Francis Daniel Maning, were very happy that finally, the event would be the start in organizing the blogging community here in Cebu and later, in the entire Visayas hopefully. We had met each other and shared our blogging insights. It was a lively meet-up. I just hope that these event would be a habit for Cebuano bloggers just like the Davao bloggers. I am part of the team consolidating the Cebu bloggers to form an organization same as the successful Mindanao Bloggers, Inc."Our government must now speed up the processing of the necessary documents so that the thousands of typhoon victims who have lost their homes, property and loved ones can receive some relief to help them rebuild their lives," said Roxas, a former representative of Capiz, which was among the provinces in the Western Visayas region that were ravaged by the storm.
"I thank PAG-IBIG President Miro Quimbo for his responsiveness to my call for expeditious assistance to the typhoon victims. This will go a long way in helping them, and I hope other government offices follow suit," he said, adding that he will also seek the assistance of the Social Security System (SSS).
"The destruction and mounting number of casualties because of typhoon 'Frank' is heartbreaking. We all need to pitch in and help to give rays of hope to those affected by the storm and floods," he said.
I would like to thank Jan Alvin Dimla of Blog Tambayan, Scarlett of Politique Economica and Ryan of Another Blogista on the Spot for nominating this blog as one of their Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, a writing project initiated by Ma'am Janette Toral to identify new and emerging blogs that are making an impact to its readers in 2008. These are blogs that started anytime from July 1, 2007 to the present. This blog started last July 29, 2007, thus it's very qualified for the search!
If you are a blogger and you think that this blog is worthy of being named as one of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, then check out the Influential Blogger blog for more details.
We are now in the 6th spot as of Week 9! Help us stay in the Top 10!
I would also like to thank again Filipinayzd, Flowell, Mark, Jehz, Myk, Francis, Lugud, Kay JD, Dexter, Rhodilee, Cecile, Richard the Adventurer, Richard D., Joan, Ederic and Jaypee for nominating this blog.
ORAS NA!
Here are pictures sent to us by Mr. Roberto Acevedo on what happened in Kalibo, Aklan after Typhoon Frank hit the province with pictures also of Senator Mar Roxas' inspection in the area.
"We need a massive campaign to educate the public and ensure that mechanisms are in place to maintain the integrity of the ballot. We all want social and economic reforms and we continue to wait for that paradigm shift to a politics of substance from a politics of popularity," Mr. Varela saidMr. Varela has a point. The upcoming election would really matter and would determine on how we can shift our country from the failed policies of this administration. We can just be sitting there, as if we didn't felt the sufferings. We need to do something and compel our leaders to do their job.
"We believe that the choice we will make in 2010 is so critical that we have to start early in assessing our potential leaders.That's one of the main point why this blog was launched. We need to make the Filipinos have a mindset that there will and should be an election in 2010. Charter change would not be an excuse for postponing the elections nor another declaration of martial law. The other point also is to open the minds of the Filipinos and give them an ample time to take a look at our bet, Senator Roxas. In this way, we can exhaust ourselves to do everything and prove to them that Senator Roxas would be the best among the rest. We may be insulted by some people for having this too early but we are determined on changing how elections work in the Philippines starting here in the cyberspace.
"One of the questions to ask is, are we really having an election in 2010? If we are, who are the best candidates? It will also be interesting to look into the real power of different sectors and the new media in influencing voters’ decisions."
The 2010 Presidential elections will be a pivotal moment for the Philippines, and right now your feedback will help guide me on how to improve our draft Mar Roxas campaign.Your feedback is crucial. Whether you've been involved heavily or just a bit, been a supporter since the beginning or are new to this movement, your feedback will inform the planning for our draft Mar Roxas campaign:
Little by little, people across the country and in different parts of the world have been engaged in this campaign at the grassroots level.
Your work, your passion, and your stories will define this campaign and will be instrumental in our success -- and as we go forward, your input is more valuable than ever.
Share your feedback now -- it's essential to moving our campaign forward:
We've learned a lot together over the past 11 months, but we're preparing for a journey more demanding than any challenge we've faced.
Yet in this challenge we also have an opportunity to run this trailblazer campaign in Philippine history.
Thank you in advance for your participation in this important survey. You and people like you in communities across the country are the heart of this campaign.
Thank you,
Kevin Ray N. Chua
Blogger
Mar Roxas for President in 2010
"It's not enough to know the damage in peso terms but on how this will manifest itself in terms of rice and food prices and supply. Let's be more open and transparent about this and other problems, to come up with an integrated plan for rehabilitation and mobilization of resources in the wake of typhoon 'Frank'," he said.Roxas has been aiding in and coordinating with different agencies on relief and rehabilitation efforts in Capiz and Iloilo since Friday.
"Typhoon 'Frank' shows how vulnerable our food supply and its affordability are to internal shocks caused by weather disturbances and natural calamities. All the more we need to invest in our farmers and make sure that they get the support needed to recover from this latest setback," he added.Roxas also called on the Department of Trade and Industry to activate the National Price Coordinating Council as an initial step to preventing unjustified price increases of goods and services by unscrupulous traders.
I am a politically-inclined person since I was 7 years old. I like talking about politics. I never realized that someday, I would be a trailblazer someday in this niche (as what Ederic Eder used to described my blog). As part of my enthusiasm with it, I tried to join the system. Here in Cebu, when I was in Grade 6 elementary, as part of the Know Your Barangay Month, I was nominated as a Barangay Councilor and represented our school (Punta Princesa Elementary School) in our one-day representation in the Barangay Council. It was fun!
I was thinking already of 2010. Then, the names Chiz Escudero, Manny Villar and Mar Roxas came into my mind. I was asking myself, who would be the best choice for President in 2010? I contemplated for it a couple of times knowing that I am a blogger since 2004, I can do a blog for that person and I am willing to give my time to make that person win in 2010. Chiz Escudero, although my top bet then, was still a neophyte for the job and he needs a little bit of experience (then came Barack Obama in 2007). Although his credentials were plausible, still, he needs to spend his time for Senator yet. We still need to see him as a Senator and 3 years would be not enough. So, it was Manny Villar and Mar Roxas playing tug-of-war in my mind. Both of them are related to "palengke" (wet market) but something broke the deadlock. Manny Villar grew up in the palengke and boasts his rags to riches story but never made importance to it until the 2007 Midterm Elections came while Mar Roxas didn't grew in the palengke actually (although they own the Farmer's Market), but has a heart for it. Since he was a Congressman until he became DTI Secretary and now as a Senator, he advocated for consumer protection. That was the deciding factor."Despite my occasional digs at Mar Roxas, I could still see that he's one of the most eligible candidates for the presidency in 2010. However, I would like to see the day when he stands up and lead us, all consumers, to a rally against rising oil and food prices. Enough of this palengke tours. Roxas should be like her grandfather who stood up against our oppressors for the benefit of the people.Thanks again!
Mar, lead us. Be presidential, like Barack Obama."
