Flood Horror Stories (Part 2)

He wanted to keep coming back to save his other neighbors but his tired body could not anymore. So he decided to take a rest at his sister's house at Valle Verde till around 9 a.m. today. Then they went back only to find how cars were piled up like matchboxes. His brother's Patrol, Camry, and Galant were supposed to be safely parked at the village main avenue as historically this was the highest point of the village. Sadly, the cars were nowhere to be found, washed away like toy cars... but what was even worse was seeing bodies already floating around, including the body of a 3-month old baby stuck in a car windshield!

As it was too devastating a sight for them to take already, they decided to just lend the boat to for others to use to save more lives.

Meanwhile, we see our government making all these excuses why they cannot save people faster... Meanwhile we hear of Devil Gloria Arroyo spending the PHP 800 m emergency contingecy fund to finance her recent foreign trips... Meanwhile we hear of Mikey Arroyo shamelessly admitting how his net worth ballooned within the few years that his family have been in power! SUCH SHAMELESS GREED!!!

I love the Philippines and I do wish for a better Philippines for my children's sake. But during times like these it makes you wish that you were living in another country where you dial 911 and help will be forthcoming.

Rey had the presence of mind, sheer will, and financial resources to buy a boat on the spot and put matters into his own hands. But what if it were the other way around and he had to wait for our USELESS GOVERNMENT to rescue his dad? We only shudder at the thought of what would have happened to his family, especially Lolo Manny, if and when rescue finally comes --which for many less fortunate souls, until now have not come!

Flood Horror Stories (Part I)

Yesterday, at the height of the floods, my sister's husband Rey whose family lives at Provident Village in Marikina, got a call from his brother. They were already at the roof of their 2-storey house -- his brother, his wife, 2 kids, his sister, and their 85-year old dad who just got out of the hospital last week.

Not wanting to rely on our USELESS government to rescue them, Rey went to Makati and scoured the stores for a motorized boat that he can buy. At around 6 p.m., he finally found a store at Reposo Street selling a 6-seater motorized boat for over 100k. But since water at Reposo was lagpas-tao, he persuaded the store owner to just ride the boat and bring it to Greenbelt where he was.

Immediately after, Rey put the boat on his pick-up and drove as far as he could en route to Marikina. The nearest dry land was the Sta. Clara Church which was still way too far from Provident.. Suffice it to say that for somebody who was maneuvering a motor boat for the first time in his life, Rey arrived Provident at 12:30 a.m. When he entered the village, everyone was screaming thinking that it was already the government's rescue team. REY WAS THE FIRST TO BRAVE PROVIDENT ON A MOTORIZED BOAT with just SHEER WILL steering him. Meanwhile, our USELESS GOVERNMENT was holding a press conference announcing their relief operations as they kept on saying that they could not get into Provident just yet to save people hanging on to their dear lives on top of their roofs because the currents were too strong for them!! HELLO!!! Please tell me why they can't and my private citizen brother in law who does not even know how to drive a boat before he purchased it could???

Rey had to turn a deaf ear to people screaming for help as he entered their village because he had his family, especially his 85-year old dad in mind. The waters were too high that he was actually holding on to the Meralco wires! He was shouting for his brother's name as he could not even locate where their house was amidst the sea of mudwater. When he finally found them, he had to hold back from breaking down as he saw his dad at the apex of their roof holding to a string of blankets just so he will not get swept by the currents! He "parked" his boat on their roof gutter and first loaded his dad and 8-year old nephew who by that time was already chilling from the cold. They have been atop the roof since 1 p.m. with wet clothes on and no food or water to even drink.

It took Rey 2 hours to navigate back to Sta. Clara church to drop off his dad and nephew, came back for his sister in law and another nephew. It was 3 a.m. by the time Rey reached Sta. Clara church again, with his sister in law and nephew, before making a final trip to get his sister. By this time, media were there and NDCC people assisting his sister-in-law to get off the boat. GIDO TEODORO had the gall to tell media that government rescue operations are now on-going, alluding to the footage of my brother in law rescuing his family!!! And these stupid NDCC people were even asking Rey's sister in law to remove her life jacket and return to them! Hello, everything was theirs, from the boat, to the life jackets, to the sheer will and determination to keep their family alive!!!

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Paalam Kaibigan

I would like to inform you that tomorrow will be my last day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that I had the privilege to work with. It was a big and very significant chapter of my professional career, and it was such a pleasure to have work with each and everyone of you. I have learned a lot of things along the way, it was quite an adventure.

Some people say that you stop working the moment you enjoy what you're doing in your work. Well I guess I did enjoy, that's why all the years had gone by so fast.

Particularly, I would like to thank the following people who had been my very good friends all these years:

- my mentors in Supply Chain
- my best friends, lunch mates, and confidantes
- my first boss in Singapore and a good friend
- my first business counterparts who contributed to the success of my first big project
- for the music and food exchanges :)
- for taking care of all the things I need, especially the mails and travels
- for the French language lessons, now I'm seriously considering to take formal lessons in the Phils. :)
- for making sure I always have a share of the fruits even when I'm not around

And for all the other wonderful people I met and work with here in Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Tokyo offices, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Change is ALWAYS a good thing, I'm just a bit sad that this "change" will require me to leave. However, we'll never know what the future holds for us and maybe someday our paths will cross again.

Should you find yourself traveling to the Philippines in the future and need some assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

This is ME signing OFF.

Social Media Changes History

How the economy became a mess!

American Casino movie trailer from Leslie and Andrew Cockburn on Vimeo.

Why Is The Philippines Poor - Dr. A.Martin

THE DIFFERENCE

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:

This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt , that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor.

On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand , that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality! It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world's strongest, safest place.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference then? The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture & flawed tradition.

On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for savings & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.
10. and of course...Discipline

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.

The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. In fact, we are supposedly rich in natural resources.

We are poor because we lack the correct attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies.

If you do not forward this message nothing will happen to you. Your pet will not die, you will not be fired, you will not have bad luck for seven years, and also, you will not get sick or go hungry.

But those may happen because of your lack of discipline & laziness,
your love for intrigue and politics, your indifference to saving for the future, your stubborn attitude.

If you love your country, let this message circulate so that many Filipinos could reflect about this, & CHANGE, ACT!