Month: April 2009

No paid EC ads in this blog

Blogging in general

And by that I mean Entrecard ads that are paid with other than EC credits.

When Entrecard announced they will be accepting paid ads, I kept quiet about it. I wanted to make sure I know how the system works before I say anything. I approved the first three ads. But then I noticed how the paid advertisements were given priority over the EC credit paid ads.

I just knew then that I won’t be approving any of those ads for this blog anymore. EC members are working hard to earn enough credits to advertise and it’s just not right to cut their advertising time to half.

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Effects of recession

Community issues

Are you feeling the effects of the recession already?

My friend who works for a big call center company here in Manila is now feeling the brunt of the global financial crisis affecting so many companies around the world. She’s now on a 9-hour, 6-day work week. Some of her co-workers are complaining. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t complain anymore. It is hard to get a job nowadays. Adjusting to longer working hours is better than being out of job.

We should all start thinking on how we can help our employers so that we can all rise above this problem we are all facing. Additional work hours, less rest days, less incentives, no more bonuses… these are all way better than being out of job. And these will all be given back in time, I’m sure of it.

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You’ve got mail!

Internet-Web Devt

One of my pet peeves is finding an email inbox filled with unread messages. My friend, Tim, knows that. After I boot up my computer, the first thing I do is check my emails. I use Gmail and it remains open until I go offline. Right now, I only have 3 unread messages. These messages are new and remains unread as a reminder that it needs to be acted on soon.

When I was in Baguio more than a year ago, I kept asking Tim to open my email account and check for new messages. So if I don’t reply to your email, that only means I am either really busy or I haven’t read it yet.

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Weather in Manila today…

Community issues

Click for Manila, Philippines Forecast

It’s slightly better than yesterday. The weather here in Manila as of 6PM today, April 14, 2009, is 31°C. It feels like you have a flu. That’s how hot it is right now. Taking a bath won’t do that much. It will just make you feel the heat and humidity more. Even putting the electric fan on steady so the air will blow directly to your face and body will only cool you down a bit.

Imagine the electricity shutting down! Meralco knows that every summer, people need electricity more than ever. As always, brownouts happen every now and then. A few minutes ago, electricity was down in our area. Tsk tsk

Maynilad Water is also pulling a stupid stunt. Shutting down water supply and just giving us an hour or two every day to fill our water drums. My dad has been calling up Maynilad Water’s 24/7 hotline 1626 asking them to do something about the water supply in our area but they are stubbornly refusing to do anything about it. My dad told the CS he talked to two days ago that should a fire break out in our area (wag naman sana!), residents wouldn’t have any water to use to put it out. What without water even dripping in our faucets!

So I am here in my corner at home right now, sweating even with the electric fan on steady in front of me, fuming mad because we don’t have water supply so I can take a shower to feel a bit cooler. Aargh!

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Updated: Abu Sayyaf’s Red Cross hostages

Community issues

UPDATE: Please visit this LINK to support and pray for the Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba. Let us all pray for the safety of the three hostages.

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Two current issues caught my attention the whole of yesterday… the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) volunteers’ continued captivity in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the HK writer Chip Tsao’s racial slur against Filipinos.

Red Cross volunteers’ continued captivity in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf

Jakob Kellenberger, a former Swiss diplomat and current head of the ICRC, issued a rare public appeal for the Abu Sayyaf to release the three Red Cross volunteers being hostaged by the group. As a response to the appeal, the government considered the demands of the Abu Sayyaf to pull out the troops in Indanan, Sulu where the the kidnapped victims are reportedly being held. Abu Sayyaf even issued a threat that should their demands are not met, they will behead a hostage.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced on national tv that the government troops would withdraw and it would take 36 hours at most to complete it. It began last March 28. Upon hearing this development, a reporter from ABS-CBN was able to interview Abu Sayyaf’s leader Albader Parad and he promised to release a hostage as soon as the withdrawal of troops is complete. He even promised no later than Monday morning, which should have been yesterday.

But lo and behold! After the pullout of government troops comes another demand from the Abu Sayyaf! This time around, the rebels want a total pullout of the troops in the entire island! Why am I not surprised by this development?

The Abu Sayyaf seized Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba, Swiss Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni last January 15. It’s been more than 3 months now and the three are complaining about the hardships they are experiencing from the captivity and are actually begging Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, to do something about their condition.

The government is saying that they are running out of options to get the hostages back. A complete pullout of the troops in Sulu will result to anarchy, according to them. And I believe them. Something needs to be done to this Abu Sayyaf Group and fast!

Chip Tsao’s racial slur in my next post…

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