Philippine Musicians and Their Future

I am living in Davao City since 1999. Sad to say, but if it comes to Philippine music, Philippine musicians and Philippine music culture, Davao City remains as a cultural fallow field. 

If one talks about the whole Philippines, one really has to agree with  Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit president OGIE ALCASID, who pointed out: "If there is a dismal lack of major local concerts these days, at least there are small gigs around town that show "life goes on for Pinoy musicians". Again, even being an expat, please allow me to express: HAY NAKU!"

For those, who are residing in Manila, or those, who can afford just to fly there, it might be correct. Of course, it has been a great event - the most unexpected jam, even long time after midnight, when one of my idols, Gretchen Barretto sang "Last Night of the World" and "Sun and Moon" from "Miss Saigon". Tracks I have been brought many times during my radio show "Classics at Night"... . As Pocholo Concepcion of the "Philippine Daily Inquirer" stated very correctly: "Gretchen should indeed seriously pursue a singing career!"

Yes, life goes on for Philippino musicians and singers. But is this really enough?

CITIBANK and its Scammed Clients

Do you also have a bank account with Citibank Philippines? Do you also belong to one of several scammed clients?

The bank promised to fully reimburse clients allegedly duped duped by its former wealth management executive Francis Bryan Ang.

Citibank legal counsel Pia Pena-Lacson, in a press conference, said an investigation was still ongoing into the transactions handled by Ang, who was publicly identified by the bank for the first time as the employee who had conducted "questionable" (?) transactions. 

Ang, who disappeared after the swindle was discovered, had confessed to "fraudulent" (?) activities. "Hay naku"... . As a court had yet to issue a warrant of arrest, Ang managed to go to hiding!

Ang, an assistant vice president for wealth management and son of Manila councilor, had swindled clients of the bank's Binondo branch by issuing them fake certificates of time deposit and mixing up adresses so the clients would not receive monthly statements of accounts. 

The bank declined to give an estimate of the total amount involved. Why? i really have no idea.

And Here Comes the Rain...

Environment officials and experts in the Philippines have advised local governments to brace for strong storms and surging flood waters brought by the erratic La Nina weather phenomenon in the next few months, saying the signs point to a brutal rainy season. Wow, while writing this piece, it pours again and rains cats and downs here in Davao City... .

So let's expect the worst and be prepared the best we can. Here in the Philippines we will never forget the taifun "Ondoy" and many other mega storms in the past few years, which indeed had underlined the importance of disaster preparedness.

I wish and hope and pray (and not only me!) that the Philippino people and especially the local governments have now really realized that disasters and environment matters should no longer remain as abstract issues, as Neric Acosta, co-convenor of the La Nina Summit held at the Department of Agriculture stated several days ago in Manila.

La Nina is a weather phenomenon resulting from air-sea interaction that leads to colder ocean temperatures in the Pacific. We have to expect excessive monsoon rainfalls especially around September and October. 

Isn't it hurting to read the comment of Philippine Climate Change Commission Chief  Heherson Alvarez, saying the Philippines are not yet prepared for extreme weather brought by global warming!

Allow me to quote Acosta again: "If the United States has 911, we could set up a similar line!" Thanks God, in Davao City we have a 911!

Here Comes the Bride....

Wedding planning just go easier. Just a couple of days after another wedding (I have been asked to become the Godfather - or NINONG!) I found BridalBook.ph. With it you can now be your own wedding planner and coordinator in one. BridalBook.ph is indeed a one-stop online resource that guides practical yet stylish Philippina brides with its planning tools, tips and photos. With just a few clicks, brides can easily find all their wedding needs there.

Bridalbook.ph boasts a 40,000-strong Supplier Directory. With a search bar that filters suppliers by category, location and budget, you can easily find your desired suppliers for flowers, invitations, giveaways and more.

To inspire couples about to knie the knot, BridalBook.ph also features a gallery of photos from real weddings. Each photo is tagged with the supplier's information, so you can get fast and easy access to your chosen suppliers. 

Also unique to BridalBook.ph is My BridalBook, an application that allows you to organize your wedding planning efforts with tools such as a wedding countdown and calendar. Wedding suppliers may also sign up at My BridalBook to get listed in the Supplier Directory.

BridalBook.ph also plays fairy godmother to couples with its promos and contests. Get a chance to win a honeymoon package to the breathtaking Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa. It's really very easy to win.

Log on to www.bridalbook.ph!

Are YOU a Senior Citizen Living in The Philippines?Sind SIE auf den Philippinen lebender Rentner?

I am not yet a senior citizen. I am not yet a pensioner. But I love to live in the Philippines for good since 1999, because Filipinos really can be proud of their strong support to elderly. Not only do they have a set of laws for senior citizens that are the envy of many developing countries, the Filipino families supprt system remains positive, appreciate and nurturing.

On the other hand; the number of all these elders continues to swell. If I am not mistaken, some five million people aged 60 years and older now account for about nice percent of the current population. This is expected to increase to about 12 percent by 2025.

Isn't it amusing to see aged 60-and-up-groups taking pleasure in discounted lunches or dinners or seeing for free a good movie? Many of Filipinos look forward to this retirement age with so much relish1 There is indeed a long list of freebies and discounts that are available to holders of that "one-and-only card" issued by the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs under the city or municipal mayor's office.

And, these benefits are also available for all expats living in the Philippines permanently!!!

Aside from getting 20 percent discount on medicines, medical and dental fees, transport fares, services in hotels and restaurants, admission fess in theatres, as well as a fice percent discount on water and electricity charges. And, very important and just recently, these transactions are exempt from the value added tax!

MABUHAY!

Philippine President Aquino's Website to be Launched Soon!

Presidential Communications Group Secretary Herminio Coloma announced plans to launch a website for  President Aquino very soon.

Coloma said the website would include a feedback mechanism that would allow visitors to interact with the President.

Coloma encouraged the public to visit the website and participate in discussions on the programs of the government. He said the website is in line with the good governance and transparency policies of the Aquino administration.

Coloma earlier hinted the reorganized and revitalized Office of the Press Secretary will be setting up a system where citizens can send their concerns via text messaging, or on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter on the Internet.

Already the office of the President has its website www.op.gov.ph.

Secretary Ricky Carandang added a new website would also have interactive mechanism where visitors could report irregularities and corruption in the financial sector through the website of the Department of Finance at www.perangbayan.com on Facebook and Twitter.

My Philippines - Meine Philippinen...

Ja, die Philippinen sind meine 2. Heimat geworden.


The Philippines - my second home.




Here are some impressions (Lake  Sebu and Sarangani in Mindanao:

Lake Sebu...

Lake Sebu

Davao City Gears for the "Kadayawan Festival"

This city is all set for this year's "Kadayawan Festival" celebration again with the public and private sectors working together to come up with a grandiose event despite limited resources. 

The city government here, along with its private partners, has optimized the resources even as it anticipates as maximum value in return for the Kadayawan Festival 2010 or K10.

Rizal Giovanni Aportadera, head of festival secretariat, promotions and documentations, said City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, has appointed City Administrator Zuleika Lopez as chair of the steering committee with Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre as vice chair for government sector and Engineer Robert Quinto, vice chair for the private sector.

Aportadera said the festival is a yearly activity that Dabawenyos and those of the neighboring cities and provinces and even foreign and domestic tourists look forward as it highlights the rich cultural resources of Davao and the bounty of flora and fauna as well as its foods, water, and livelihood.

Among the awaited events during Kadayawan is the "Pamulak", or Floral Float Parade, which is a mobile display of the blooming of flowers and ripening of fruits in creatively decorated floats on parade, showcasing the abudance of vegetation in the region.

The other is the "Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan" or street dancing.

Committee chair James A. Zimmermann said each year, the number of participants increase and new things are featured every time the floral float parade takes the streets of the city.

The list of regular participants continues to increase even as he said that there will be both competing and non-competing categories.

The floral float parade will be held on August 22 starting at 8 am with route starting at Magsaysay Avenue to Claro M. Recto Street then to Legaspi and San Pedro streets. The parade will proceed after the Pasasalamat Thanksgiving Mass at 7 am at the San Pedro Cathedral.

The sreet dancing wiull be held on AUgust 21 starting at 7 am along C.M.Recto, San Pedro, Bonifacio, Ponciano, Roxas Avenue and showdown will be at 3 pm at Sand Pedro Street.

Among many other events: Davao City will be conducted from August 11 (today) to September 11, 2010 at the Museo Dabawenyo where prtraits and landscape paintings of Engineer Manuel Mendros will feature Davao City mayors. 

Thhe "Panagtagbo" or Multi-Cultural Performances will be held from August 16-29 and 21, 2010 at the People's Park and NCCC Mall. 

Many more activities and events are waiting for you.

Come and visit Davao City, my second home...!

Storms - let's enjoy cooler climate in the Philippines?

It will be cooler but stormy for the third quarter here in the Philippines. This forecast has been issued by Dr. Prisco Nilo, the country's top meteorologist just weeks after the Philippine Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) failed to provide the precise path of the typhoon Basyang, the second to hit the country this year and knocked out power supply in most of the metropolis. 

I also postponed my next trip to Manila expecting the next typhoon.

Anyway, ill-equipped or not, PAGASA said the third quarter sees the continuing cooling across the equatorial Pacific. A God's blessing for the Philippines? Let's wait and see and have a cup of tea. 

The south west monsoon should peak any time between now and September.... .Anywhere from seven to ten tropical cyclones are likely to develop and enter the Philippin Area of Responsibility during the quarter. 

I just watch the news: Pakistan, China - and even Germany and Poland... .

The Philippines - world's most disaster-prone?

The Center for Research and Epidemiology Disasters disclosed the Philippines ranked first worldwide in the most number of disasters that hit the country with a 25.

Wow!

In an annual statistical review complied by the group, the country, where  I am living now for good as in my second home, led the list of natural disaster events with 24 followed by China with 16 thereby making the country  as the hardest hit in terms of calamities that pose a serious threat to life and limb. While writing this piece, I am again postponing my next trip to Manila, even being invited by a German authority. 

Based on a 46-page report, natural disasters are defined as events where 10 or more  poeple are killed, 100 and more poeple are affected, a state of calamity was declared, and there's a call for international assistance. 

Diaster preparedness and risc reduction measures, which is one of the initiatives being undertaken by the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera, should now be  prioritized by all Philippine local governments by coming up with emergency plans during disasters.

Guys, hurry up!

Almost 11 million Filipinos in almost all parts of the country were and are still badly affected by the aforesaid and coming typhoons. With the onset of the rainy season, let allow me to remind all of us, especially in identified disaster-prone areas like the Cordillera and all low land communities, to prepare for the worst casae scenariao.

It's raining again, while writing this. Light rain and dark sky in Davao City!

 

Save the Philippine Eagle? Yes, PLDT helps... .

A symbol of the country's soaring aspirations, the Philippine eagle, the world's tallest eagle at three feet high from talon to crown, is still facing a grim future as yars of poaching pushed the birds in the brink of extinction.

Jude C. Galford explained it very well. Decades of illegal logging also in the Mindanao rainforests and elsewhere in the country where the eagles inhabit further threatened the very existence of the haribon - derived by blending HARI (king) and IBON (bird) - and the chance for the younger generation to see one of the world's most exotic predators.

As an environmentalist since many years I am glad and happy to announce: the sad fate of the Philippine eagle, moreover, may see a reversal of fortune now that several groups are doing whatever they can to help preserve and protect their natural nesting areas. These groups include PLDT (Philippine Longdistance Telephone Company) and the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF). 

Both really climbed the mountains of Barangay Datu Ladayon in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato recently to bring hope to the "monkey-eating-eagle.

Kudos and thank you very much for helping to PLDT Community Relation Head Evelyn M. del Rosario and PLDT Davao Customer Zone Head Mr. Ben Gaite. 

According to PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador, PLDT was the first private institution helping the Arakan Valley. Yes, the Philippine eagle indeed may soar the skies of Cotabato again as one of the biggest living eagles in the world.

Dramatic Increase of Foreigners in The Philippines

The Bureau of Immigration has reported a 559-percent (!) increase in the number of registered foreigners in the Philippines during the first semester 2010.  The new alien registration division chief Danila Almeda said the number  of foreigners listed at his office numbered almost 58.000 as of June 2010, compared to only more than 12.000 who were registered in the same period in 2009.

Almeda disclosed that during the first quarter of the year, the number of BI-registered aliens increased already by 365 percent and their number surged further during the second quarter.

Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar is now the officer-in-charge of the bureau.

Expatriats or working visa applicants account for the bulk of registered foreigners, followed by holders of student visas and foreigners married to Filipinos. 

I would really agree with Almeda's statement attributing the large increase in registered aliens to the aggressive campaign of former BI-commissioner Marcelino Libanan in encouraging foreigners to visit, do business and study in the Philippines. I met Libanan several times personally.

Of course, the Philippines remains as a favorite destination for foreign business executives, many of whom are employed by multinational companies. 

And one more thing: Also citied as a major factor is the success of the BI's regionalization program where in the various field and satellite offices of the bureau were mobilized to encourage foreigners outside of Metro Manila to register and regularize their stay in the Philippines. I am also glad and happy being able to deal with the BI-office in Davao City for example. No need for travelling to Manila... .