10 October 2009

Dagdag pa niya...

Hi everybody,

I have made a petition to try to correct the not so supportive policies on tree and bamboo farming in the Philippines. This is a very important issue considering the problems we are now facing like climate change and floods.

May I, therefore, please ask for your support by signing the said petition. It is titled "Creation of a Wholesome Working Environment for Bamboo and Tree Farming". To affix your signature, please open www.gopetition.com and type the title in the search bar of the site. Then click on "petitions" from the choices that will follow.

Or you could do a shortcut by searching via google. Just type the title of the petition on the search bar and that's it. After signing, you could also make some personal supportive comments.

Looking forward to your full support. It would be nice if you could also forward this request to your friends and business associates please.

Thanks and best regards,

Mr. 8

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Bamboo: a solution

Someone among us is actually doing something to preserve our environment. Let us support his advocacy and do something on our own,

PETITION, SUGGESTION, RECOMMENDATION - Massive Planting of Bamboo Worldwide

CATEGORIES - Climate Change and Poverty Reduction

REGION - Worldwide

TARGET - United Nations Organization
______________________________
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BACKGROUND:

After the conduct of the training workshop on Non-Timber Forest Products in Zheijang Province, PR China last 27 August to 15 September 2009, it has been established that the best solution to the climate change problem is massive planting of bamboo worldwide. This is considering the natural characteristics of the plant as follows:

1. It is the fastest growing plant in the planet. Some species actually can grow up to 4 feet per day.
2. It is much more sustainable compared to trees. When one plants a tree, the minimum waiting time for it to be usable is 10 years and for every 1 tree planted, only 1 tree also can be harvested. Whereas, if one plants bamboo, the maximum waiting time for it to be usable is 5 years only and for every 1 planted, more than a hundred can be harvested and there is no stopping.
3. It is much easier to grow compared to trees.
4. It ABSORBS 35% more carbon dioxide and also EMITS 35% more oxygen compared to trees, thus making it the best agent for carbon sequestration.
5. If massive planting of bamboo will be done by all countries of the world, the problem of climate change will be GONE in a matter of only 6 YEARS.

Incidentally, massive bamboo planting will also significantly reduce poverty as evidenced by China's bamboo-based industries income generation record.

1. Income from bamboo farming per hectare is 7 times more compared to rice farming.
2. The bamboo-based industries income of China last 2008 derived from its 7 million hectares of bamboo plantation is US$15billion.
3. It is the best substitute for wood and its tensile strength is higher than that of soft steel. More use of bamboo and less use of wood will be good for the planet.
4. Bamboo is a source for food, lumber, charcoal, medicines, some chemicals, pulp for paper, cloth and a lot more.
5. It is the BEST SOURCE OF BIO-OIL/FUEL. Copra, oil palm, jathropa, sugar cane, moringa, sorghum. cassava and other sources of bio-oil could not compare to bamboo. Investing in bamboo-based bio-oil production will:
a. reduce dependence on fossil fuel
b. reduce GHG emissions that is one significant cause of climate change
c. save foreign exchange
d. create JOBS
e. establish LAND COVER
f. motivate COUNTRYSIDE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY which will be good for overall
economy.

Wherefore, it is urgently recommended that the United Nations Organization will convene all the leaders of its member countries and make each country feel responsible to join the battle against climate change and poverty reduction.

To insure success in this areas of activity, every country must be made to adopt conducive, friendly and supportive policies and strategies to motivate their respective citizens to go into massive bamboo planting and bamboo utilization in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives and benefits as soon as possible.

26 March 2009

Kris Aquino for President

Kris Aquino is qualified to be a Philippine President. She grew up within a political environment and graduated from a prestigious university in the country. People listen to her. She admits her mistakes and learns from them. She is an entertainment celebrity but is engage in industrial businesses as well. She believes in the Supreme Being and is a friend. She takes care of her family and listens. She worked her way up and is grateful too.

She is the youngest child of the former President Corazon Aquino, Asia’s first female president, and Benigno Aquino, Jr., a national hero and an opposition senator during the Ferdinand Marcos regime. She was born on February 14, 1971 as Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino.

She graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1992. She had her secondary education at the Colegio San Agustin in Makati, and elementary in the United States. She came back after her father’s assassination in 1983 and attended rallies combating Marcos.

Businesses in the Philippines sought after Kris for product endorsements. A corned beef brand, a home appliance section, a brewery corporation, a cosmetic solution, to name a few. And this can only be because the public believes her. For this, she was labeled the "Commercial Princess of the Philippines." In October 2008, YES! Magazine listed her as the leading celebrity endorser, with 21 products to her name. She also hosted a model search show for a clothing company.

Kris’ fame does not end there. An entertainment celebrity she may be but some Filipinos turn to her for help a politician must be the one to provide. Bloggers would ask her assistance for things an entertainment celebrity should not be bothered for.

To the dismay of many, Kris got involved in several relationships. One was with Philip Salvador, her fellow actor in Nandito Ako (1994), who impregnated her with Joshua.

She also had an affair with Alvin Patrimonio, a basketball player of the Purefoods Chunkee Giants and a married man. The former mayor of Paranaque, Joey Marquez, also got hold of her heart. Marquez is a former basketball player, married, an actor and a television host. Kris separated with him upon being inflicted with Chlamydia, a type of sexual transmitted disease, because of Marquez’s activities.

She finally got married to a basketball player on July 10, 2005. James Yap, Patrimonio’s playmate and the 2006 Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), won her heart and tied knots with her on a civil wedding. Their fairy tale almost ended when a former receptionist from the Belo Medical Group claimed she had a relationship with Yap.

After an interview with Korina Sanchez where Yap denied the illicit affair, life went on for Kris. She gave birth on April 19, 2007 to her second son at the Makati Medical Center in Makati. “Baby James” is her first child with Yap.

She could have another child but Kris suffered a miscarriage a day after her mother was known to have colon cancer.
Kris also has several businesses under her name: Lena Restaurant, Sencillo, Sierra Madre Water and Roberto Antonio, an upscale flower shop in partnership with Boy Abunda. Also with Abunda, Nonon del Carmen and Agnes Maranan, she established the boutique ad agency MAD (an acronym for their surnames, Maranan Abunda Aquino del Carmen).

As a businesswoman, Kris recognized the need to be honest. The Bureau of Internal Revenue recognized her as the top individual taxpayer of 2007, as in previous years.

What she observes in her businesses, she also observes in her friendships. After a public falling-out two years ago, she rekindled her bond with Dr. Vicki Belo, a cosmetic surgeon. She also agreed to put her house in collateral just to fund Abunda’s candidacy for a congressional seat.

If she is a friend, Kris is also a loyal family member. She gave tribute to her mother through her album Greatest Love, which had gone gold in its first week of release, and contribute to the former president’s medical expenses. Kris’ biggest blessing, Cory Aquino, is diagnosed with colon cancer. She would then take care of her mother after her brothers and sisters did. She would accompany her to a salon (Bambi Fuentes’) for shampoo.

Kris is also a mother. Joshua, who happens to be autistic, already has a wealth-managed fund ensured. The same as with Baby James, who already has an educational fund.

Amidst their differences, Kris worked to make her marriage work. She and James would attend marriage-counseling sessions with Fr. Jun Sison who is the one who advised them to fly out of the country.

In an interview with Ricky Lo in Showbiz Stripped, Kris admitted that ‘[she] is not the most important person in the world.’ Those who have watched Boy & Kris could testify that she often quote the Supreme Being’s work in people’s lives.

Kris did not become an actress just because she is her parents’ daughter. She made her film debut with actor-comedian Rene Requiestas in the comedy Pido Dida, a blockbuster hit that proved Kris can be a box office queen, for not long after, Gawad Urian nominated her portrayal in The Fatima Buen Story. She also starred in the Vizconde Massacre, a true-to-life murder. For this, newspaper critics labeled her the “Massacre Queen.”

She starred in other movies too: Myrna Diones Story, Elsa Castillo-Ang Katotohanan, Humanda Ka Mayor, Feng Shui, So... Happy Together and Sukob. She again became a Box Office Queen in these movies with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. She a supporting actress award for the film Mano Po, produced by Regal Films in 2002.

Kris also ventured into hosting. In Startalk, a showbiz-oriented talk show in GMA7, her hosting wit was enhanced.

After her GMA and Viva contracts expired, she transferred to ABS-CBN and hosted Today with Kris Aquino, the Best Talk Show for the PMPC Star Awards in 1998. She also hosted in The Buzz a year after with Abunda. Two years later, the network tapped her to host the game show Game KNB? and compete with The Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? of IBC-13.

Alongside the game show, she hosted a morning talk show with Korina Sanchez, a media personality. Morning Girls with Kris and Korina lasted for 16 months (January 2003-May 2004) when it was only meant for two weeks.

But family remains to be a top priority for Kris. The country’s Queen of Talk left her two shows after giving birth to Baby James. She also always makes it a point to spend time with her mom and her sons on weekends.

Currently, she’s hosting “Deal or No Deal.” Starmometer.com named her the 29th Most Beautiful Filipina last year.

On capikat50megs.com, Kris was hailed as cute and lovely. ‘This woman is simply amazing, downright honest and very remarkable. She has her own unique and exquisite material when it comes to TV hosting. Concise, complete and just the facts. Entertaining and sometimes candid. Philippine lunchtime-TV will never be the same without her. She's an excellent TV host and described as the 'Queen of Philippine Daytime Talk-Show'. Viewers have always something to look forward on every show.’

Of course, there are people bothered by her presence (and much more, I guess, with this blog). They would call her behavior unrefined, infuriating and unprofessional. In fact, a student from the University of the Philippines has written an essay against her, implying that she just deserves the criticisms and violence she faced. A former fan labeled her a ‘Monster on TV’ when she and her nieces went to a taping of Pilipinas, Game KNB? all the way from Nueva Ecija only to be shouted at.

Kris Aquino ought to be the next Philippine president. She would be better than the politicians masked with scholastic achievements and holy oil. She does not believe in calls for change; she just changes herself. She recognizes faults and admits hers. She would be the President the country needs this time.

07 January 2009

Marriage contract with an expiry date

Roughly four years ago, two Filipino essayists suggested a marriage contract that expires every two years. They reasoned that the feeling of love lasts only till that time so it would be impractical to stretch oneself out.

Today, party-list 1-Ako Babaeng Astig Aasenso (1-ABAA) brought the issue to the Congress and proposed a 10-year expiration period to marriage contracts.

A marriage contract is just like a passport or a driver’s license, after all. Married Filipinos should be given a choice to renew theirs if ever.

“Under prevailing laws, a marriage license really has a validity period of only 120 days from issuance, thus, it really has an expiration period like any other license,” explained Margie Tajon, president of the women party-list 1-ABBA.

Unsurprisingly, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) resented the idea. Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez of Caloocan, Chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of CBCP, even maintained that ‘marriage is for keeps and it has no expiry date.’

The Family Code of the Philippines defined marriage license as “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life only valid for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue.” Neither could it be automatically canceled nor remodeled upon.

'Till death do us part’

Carmela Lapena of GMANews.TV wrote that it is ‘more like the dread of red tape and the lack of funds that helps [married couples] stick to their vow.’ “When you think about it, what the group wants isn’t really that outrageous… It’s 2010, but when it comes to matters of the heart, most Pinoys still seem to be stuck in the 1950s… It’s more like the dread of red tape and the lack of funds that helps them stick to their “till death do us part" vow—even if they want to kill each other.”

Marck Ronald Rimorin., Head of Social Media at NetBooster Asia, agreed with her. “Married couples that don’t feel the love anymore should have the benefit of counseled divorce or guided annulment to emerge from the failed relationship as better people. Properties should be divided, kids should be taken care of, and obligations fulfilled.”

Soon-to-be-married Kevin Arriola also doesn’t regard 1-ABBA’s proposal ‘a bad idea.’ His fiancée though, Tina Zuñiga, still believes that ‘marriage is a sacred lifelong commitment.’ “It’s not just a trial-and-error process,” she added.

Daniel Barretto, on the other hand, was more concerned of the ‘hassle’ when a person would have to renew a nuptial vow. “Hindi ba parang mawawala yung pagiging ‘big thing’ ng pagpapakasal pag ganun kadali na p’wedeng pabayaan na lang? Parang hindi magandang mag-expire yung kasal dahil hindi mo na talaga maaasikaso [ang renewal ng contract] kung malapit nang mamatay.”

Just find ways to make marriages work properly, suggested Cecille Jabier who had been married for 21 years. Better yet, make provisions for children of dissolved unions. “A marriage contract, if it were only based on money or ‘business' should be able to expire. But a marriage should be more than that. Its currency is in people’s lives and the lives of all those around them. Such relationships do not expire. They are meant to be nurtured.”

Several of the country’s lawmakers have also disapproved of the plan. Speaker Prospero Nograles insisted on his Catholic faith. Representative Eduardo Nonato Joson of Nueva Ecija had favored annulment. Pastor Bienvenido Abante complained about the state of Philippine values.

Solons Rufino Biazon of Muntinlupa and Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina dissented comparing a marriage contract to other kinds of contract. That ‘will endanger the integrity of the ties that bind Philippine Society’ for marriage ‘should not be treated as merely a contract that has an expiry date.’

“It is possible that the batterer will suddenly shift from violent stage to honeymoon stage when the 10-year expiration nears and the cycle of violence will just continue," reasoned Liza Maza of Gabriela party-list who came up with House Bill 4016 instead to give couples an option for divorce.

In Germany, politician Gabriele Pauli suggested marriage contacts to expire every seven years. She is a twice-divorcee at 50.

Though 1-ABAA has a good reason for proposing expiry dates to marriage contracts, Pilipina Ako doesn’t think this has to be so. Unless it would feel natural hearing the following, Pilipina Ako would do what she can to defend the sanctity of marriage.

“I wanna hold you till I die. Till we both break down and cry.
I wanna hold you, till our license expires.”

“It’s not you, it’s not me. It’s not that I don’t love you anymore;
it’s just that our license to love expired.”

“Sayang… expired na pala lisensya mo… kaya tayo magkakalayo…
bakit kaya minsan sadyang kay damot ng tadhana…”

“Ikaw pa rin ang laman ng puso ko. Pero, hindi na ikaw ang laman ng wallet ko.”

“Hindi sa hindi kita kayang mahalin.
Darling, sadyang kay haba lang ng pila sa simbahan.”

If it's any consolation, the proposal doesn't include Muslim weddings.

References

01 January 2009

REFERENCE LIST

27 Jul 2011
On the Philippine National Police
http://www.pnp.gov.ph/main/
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1990/ra_6975_1990.html
http://www.pnp.gov.ph/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=56
http://www.abs-cbn.com/Weekdays/article/7373/phrpresentsimpostor/PHR-Presents-Impostor.aspx
http://www.abs-cbn.com/Weekdays/cast/article/7460/rosalka/Rosalka.aspx

07 Jan 2009
Marriage with an expiry date
http://socyberty.com/relationships/the-benefit-of-mandatory-marriage-expiration/
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=539549
http://www.weddingsatwork.com/wawnewsblog/category/church-matter/
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/181122/party-list-pushes-marriage-expiration-clause
http://www.marocharim.com/2010/01/08/license-to-love/
http://www.congress.gov.ph/members/index.php?v=sector&congress=15
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1563785/German-MP-calls-for-marriage-expiry-date.html
http://balita.ph/2010/01/11/pro-women-group-questions-proposal-to-put-expiration-on-marriage-contracts/
http://balita.ph/2010/01/13/lawmakers-junk-marriage-contract-expiration