Pala-isip

Heard through the grapevine. ========== Those who have also been severely affected - the "working" (employed), as far as I heard are not getting didly squat from their barangays! Most of the relief goods are being distributed to squatters area who would be needing relief goods - with or without Ondoy. Of course mas lalo ngayon - it seems daw na doon lang nakafocus ngayon - IN OTHER WORDS, KUNG HINDI KA CONSIDERED SQUATER KAHIT WALA KANG MAKAIN WALA KANG MAKUKUHA! ========== Hay...politics. Election season na talaga.

Bagyong Pepeng is reported to hit Metro Manila this weekend. Please make necessary preparations. Here are some survival guides Prepare first aid kit Store some bottled water Prepare some canned goods or dry food Put some clean clothes in a resealable bag like underwear, shirt and pants Teach everyone in the household what to do in case of an emergency like where to meet and who to look out for (buddy system). Prepare an emergency bag/kit Things to put in an emergency kit Flashlight Batteries Portable radio Matches Candles (small) Water canister Spare cellphone (battery fully charged) Small towel T-shirt Small mirror Whistle Be safe!

Just reposting this. I have no sources to confirm this but I hope it's not true. ============= Repost, from a confirmed and reliable source: donations from abroad coursed through embaassies were directed by (p)gma to be deposited into a "special" account opened for Ondoy victims. Said account is under the control of Luli Arroyo. ============= If this is true, may God have mercy on their souls. No, wait scratch that. If that is true, people like these deserves to be in hell. The foreign donations coming to the Philippines is huge. We are talking millions of dollars here. Here are some details http://balita.ph/2009/09/29/foreign-donations-pour-in-for-ondoy-victims/ . So a reminder just to be safe. Don't send your donations through the embassies. Direct them straight to the charities instead. Check my previous post for details of various charities.

PAGASA (11:30am): Typhoon Pepeng now a significant typhoon, slowly becoming a Super typhoon with wind speeds up to 175 kph with gustiness of about 210kph. Entering Northern Luzon by Sat morning. But expect heavy rainfall by tomorrow. Given the current status of some cities, only 1/4 of the Ondoy rain is needed to raise flood waters to dangerous levels. Prepare for flood just in case. Please repost. http://www.goes.noaa.gov/guam/guamloops/guamvs.html

Here are some high resolution photos taken of the massive flooding in Metro Manila caused by Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana). Includes photos of floods in Vietnam. See all 36 photos at Boston.com

There is a new storm that is expected to enter the Philippines. Called Pepeng (international name Parma). PAGASA says it is monitoring the storm and it could still change direction. But just a warning for people to be prepared.

I saw this on Youtube about Richard Gutierrez saving Cristine Reyes who was on the roof of her house due to the flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy the hit Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. Here's the photo of Cristine Reyes. I'm not sure how much of a hero he is, but from what I gather, he was using a borrowed speedboat to save Cristine and her family and left the other victims. So he was basically a hero...only to Cristine Reyes. Also going around is that he's the only one doing an interview of his heroism while no other artist who helped save people did. Artists like Jericho Rosales and Gerald Anderson has no interview of their heroism and in fact were avoiding any interviews about it. Then again, if you're an artist, any publicity is good publicity.

After Mikey Arroyo responded to the media to have Facebook and the Internet regulated and was posted in several blogs. Several readers had very harsh comment about it. The problem with Mikey is that he can't keep his mouth shut. We have a saying in Filipino. "Ang pikon talo". Here are some that I saw. ========== Depressing September 30, 2009 at 11:11 am “My picture posted at Facebook with a caption saying I was busy shopping for wine at the height of Typhoon Ondoy is another malicious attack at my personality. It is so depressing,” he said. Mikey Arroyo you sanctimonious twat–you know what’s depressing? What’s depressing is that you have a million-dollar house in California that was funded by obviously stolen taxpayer funds. What’s depressing is that I fork over 30 pesos out of every 100 pesos I make TO YOU and all your friends in Congress like you who use my hard-earned money to buy houses and get range rovers with police escorts and sirens who push me off EDSA in traffi

One of the 2009 Cannes Lions winners. A simple short film about communication. Created by Publicis Mojo and @RadicalMedia Director: Patrick Hughes

Mikey Arroyo reacted to a photo of him that circulated on the Internet showing at Rustan's at the height of Typhoon Ondoy. The photo describes him as being callous shopping for alcoholic drinks while his countrymen were suffering. He lashed out and said that Facebook and other mediums should be regulated and that it was impossible for him to be at Rustan's at Katipunan since it was impassable at the time. Here is the photo. I haven't seen a lot of photos of Mikey Arroyo and the picture is blurry. There was also no time stamp on the photo so I can't really say if this photo is real or not so you be the judge. You can't believe everything to see or read on the Internet. Here's the article from the Daily Tribune . ============== 09/30/2009 Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo yesterday lashed out at bloggers of a popular Web site who posted his picture describing him as a callous public official busy shopping for alcoholic drinks

A deaf girl learns to play the violin.

Repost from fullman.com.ph While some were still drowning, while some families were still stuck on roofs, while those who were not badly hit were sacrificing their lives to save those who need rescuing and while others were volunteering their energy to provide relief to those who lost almost everything, some of our honorable congressmen and women were busy saving Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, protector of Big Boss Mike Arroyo. Today, the impeachment complaint against the Ombudsman was dismissed by the House justice committee with a vote of ‘absolute majority’. It was a surreal hearing. After being delayed for several weeks because of lack of quorum, the House committee was suddenly able to force its members to attend the hearing, disaster and all. SHAME!!!!!

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Tuesday ordered the suspension of classes covering as many as four regions to pave the way for a massive, government-led cleanup of areas devastated by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana).

Summarized from the Philippine Daily Inquirer . The lack of coordination and leadership by government has thrown the relief efforts to shambles. =========== Until now, the government has not clarified whether it will dispense with the red tape that normally accompanies donations in kind: the last thing the country needs is a scandal associated with donated relief goods being impounded by the Bureau of Customs or taxed upon arrival. The Department of Foreign Affairs also needs to facilitate documentation requirements as there are many Filipinos overseas who can help by means of collecting goods rather than giving cash. There have been too many reports of our embassies and consulates telling concerned individuals just to give cash because they don’t want to deal with relief goods. We believe our foreign posts are as concerned as ordinary citizens, but are hampered by lack of guidance from their bosses. The Department of Trade and Industry has established a hotline (751-3330) to report pr

Our fellow kababayans in Taiwan started a relief drive to help victims of Typhoon Ondoy that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila that killed 246 people and displaced over 1.9 million people. If you are from Taiwan, here's how you can help.

If you have any information you'd like to share like photos, donation location/drive/info or would like to report any anomalies happening (i.e. looting, campaigning by politicians by providing T-shirts with their names, etc.). Please leave a comment and I will post them on my blog. For photos, please post them to flickr or any other photo sharing service and send me the link.

Here is a link to Gawad Kalinga for their Ketsana Relief drive to help the casualties of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. Here is the link to Gawad Kalinga's Ketsana Relief website.

Here is a link to a mapping service to help victims of Typhoon Ondoy that flooded Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. The link takes you to a Google Map service to report help or rescue needed, news updated, report missing persons and location services for donation stations. Here is the link. http://sites.google.com/site/ondoymanila/map-update-form

Let's stop with the depressing news for a while. Like all Filipinos, we can smile even in the most dire of situations. Here's something to make you smile.

Any help to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila will help a lot. Please share this video or send your donations to the following: Click here for online donations to the Philippine National Red Cross The following are donation information for the Philippine National Red Cross Banking info was copied from their website. Click the following link for confirmation. http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx Monetary Donations 1. CASH or CHECK Please send cash or check donations to the PNRC National Headquarters in Manila. Checks should be made payable to The Philippine National Red Cross. We can also arrange for donation pick-up. 2. BANK DEPOSIT Account Name: The Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross PNRC PESO ACCOUNT ALLIED BANK Intramuros Branch PESO ACCOUNT : 1941-01347-1 Type of Account : CURRENT SWIFT CODE : ABC MPH MM BANCO DE ORO Port Area Branch PESO ACCOUNT : 453-0018647 Type of Account : SAVINGS SWIFT CODE : BNOR PH MM BANK OF

Here are some news updates related to Typhoon Ondoy. Smart co-founder killed from wall collapse Storm forces Arroyo to leave Malacanang Typhoon Ketsana kills 31 in Vietnam and displacing 170,000 World pours aid to the Philippines

Willie Revillame of Wowowee interviews Eric, the Marikina River survivor which overflowed making Marikina one of the worst hit cities during the flooding caused by Typhoon Ondoy that hit Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. Here are some info on how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy that caused a massive flood in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009.

This was circulating on the Facebook and a ton of people reacted. Jacque Bermejo's insensitive post about the victims of Typhoon Ondoy obviously drew a lot of ire. She posted an official statement in The Gossiper and apparently her account was hacked by someone who had something against her. This e-mail was sent to The Gossiper by one of her sister's friend. I can understand the anger of people especially those who've been affected directly by the flood. But let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Let's leave her alone and just get on with our lives. If she didn't do it, would you be able to live with yourself knowing you destroyed a person's reputation for something they didn't do? If she did say that, so what? Some people are just idiots. Whatever you say, it won't help anyway.

Here is a summary of some news I gathered regarding Typhoon Ondoy that flooded Metro Manila for your information. From the Philippine Daily Inquirer: Marikina needs P1B to rebuild Health officials warn of disease outbreaks 'Ondoy' a preview of more disasters to come -- Atienza 132,000 Meralco customers still without power PDI relief drive: We need food, water, clothes… From The Philippine Star: Relief efforts overwhelmed STAR's 'Ondoy' fund drive on Tomorrow's (Sept 30) classes suspended PAGASA spots new disturbance DTI imposes price ceiling on basic goods Road tax eyed for 'Ondoy' fund

Summarized from the Philippine Daily Inquirer . During the massive flooding caused by Typhoon Ondoy that wrecked havoc to Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. We're heard stories of our fellowmen doing acts of heroism and bravery with little thoughts about their own safety. Just like the story about a Judge Ralph Lee of Regional Trial Court Branch 83. “I heard that so many families were already stranded on their rooftops because water from the Tullahan River was already overflowing,” Lee, 49, told the Inquirer. Lee drove from his Fairview home for the stricken community 30 minutes away with his personal water craft, life vests and two rubber boats he used on weekend wakeboarding sorties and mobilized a rescue effort that saved 100 lives. Because of Judge Lee's efforts, people were calling him "Superman". There were other super heroes, like Muelmar Magallanes, a powerful swimmer who braved rampaging floods to save more than 30 people, but ended up sacrificing his life in a l

Please help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Here are some info on how you can help.

I couldn't believe this when I read it. “Be it hereby resolved by the Philippine Senate, to enjoin all senators to allocate at least P1 million from their Priority Development Assistance Fund to aid victims of Ondoy,” according to Senate Resolution 1378 filed by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday. P1 million!?! Multiplied by 24 senators that's only P24 million! Doesn't each senator get P200 million of PDAF each!?! How generous of them...

Excerpts from an article on the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ============ “It’s plain incompetence of the leadership, and government was absent,” said Sen. Loren Legarda. The National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC), she said, “clearly has no action plan.” Legarda called for a review of NDCC activities. “Can they say they don’t have money or power (to mitigate the) effects of disasters? Of course not,” the senator said, pointing out that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has an annual P2-billion “calamity fund.” “What sticks out from the aftermath of Ondoy is that the Arroyo government is not prepared to handle such emergency situations. It is very clear that those who were stranded overwhelmingly outnumber available rubber boats and members of rescue teams,” said KMU chair Elmer Labog in a statement. Labog said the television and radio ads by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. on disaster preparedness proved a waste of taxpayers’ money. “Clearly, the government is not putting wh

From an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ============ In her State of the Nation Address last July 27, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said: “As a country in the path of typhoons and the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared, as the latest technology permits, to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not.” She also asserted that the mapping of flood-and landslide-prone areas is “almost complete,” citing the improvement of “early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems” and the installation of flood-control infrastructure in areas of Luzon, including the Pasig and Marikina rivers. ============ So much for the preparation. If the money for the Le Cirque dinners and the ZTE-NBN deals were used to upgrade PAGASA's radars, upgrade the drainage system and buy disaster relief supplies. This calamity would never have happened. They keep blaming that one month worth of rain fell in six hours. But in

Here's another video of the flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. This one is in Katipunan. Watch what happened to the car at 1:23.

Read this article on Yahoo! News Philippines about Cebu donating P10 million from their city's calamity fund to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy that hit Metro Manila causing massive flooding. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Samuel Chioson had circulated a memorandum requesting their members to give donations, cash or in-kind, to the victims of Ondoy. Read the full details at Yahoo! News Philippines .

Here are photos of the relief operations at La Salle Greenhills to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Photos by Arianne Blanche Ramirez.

Found this slideshow showing how high the flood was in Sto. Domingo St., Quezon City caused by Typhoon Ondoy that flooded Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009.

Report from ABS-CBN on Typhoon Ondoy.

Aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. This is Marikina.

The Kutchers, Paris Hilton, Alyssa Milano. Concerned about the Philippines. So mga Pinoy, tama na mga sumbatan at away...unite!

Donation drive for Ondoy victim by the UST Student Council.

As with the previous post about Gerald Anderson and his brother helping their neighbors. Here is Jericho "Echo" Rosales on a surfboard helping out his neighbors during the flood in Metro Manila caused by Typhoon Ondoy.

Please help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Here are some info on how you can help.

Here are some info on how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy that caused a massive flood in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009.

Here are photos of the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. This is Divisoria at Sta. Elena going to Divisoria Mall. And as usual, one of the main cause of the flood is garbage on the streets. Photo credits Mattea Go.

Here are videos I found of the underpass of Quiapo or what most people call Quiapo ilalim. After the flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. Quiapo ilalim turned into a virtual swimming pool.

I saw this on Facebook and was touched by the bravery of some people during the massive flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy in Metro Manila on Sept 26, 2009. I'm reposting here for everyone to see. Despite the neck high water which was at the time still rising, Gerald Anderson and his brother still managed to check on their neighbors. In times of crisis such as this our roles in society really doesn't matter as long as we try our best to help others. Teachers, bankers, drivers, CEO's, nurses, lawyers, actors, whatever. Kasi sa huli the only thing that matters is na PINOY tayong lahat.

Here are some more photos of the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy the caused a major flood in Metro Manila. Taken on Sept 27, 2009 at Ongpin. Blackout at Ongpin (Chinatown). Taken on Sept 28, 2009 in Binondo (Chinatown). Alonzo corner Soler. Alonzo. Soler In front of Ling Nam restaurant at Alonzo. The thing with these photos is that those garbage was not caused by the flood that submerged Metro Manila during Typhoon Ondoy. These trash was largely the cause of the floods. Those garbage are always on the street waiting for garbage trucks to pick them up and they are always placed this way. Those garbage clogs the sewers and leaves a stink all the time. And once people see these trash on the streets, more people throw trash on the streets. Those garbage are thrown by the local businesses and residents. They include plastic bags, cartons, food stuff, etc. For over 20 years that I've seen Binondo (Chinatown), it's always been like this. Nobody has ever thought of bringing in large garbage