Posts Tagged Southern Leyte
Tsunami from Chile to Hit the Philippines
Posted by Bendz in Ramblings & Rants on February 28, 2010
I’m from Southern Leyte, a province in the Philippines included in the list of places that the Tsunami from Chile could hit. Like me, a lot of my Facebook friends are still up thanks to a text message that has been passed on since they heard the news that Southern Leyte is a possible tsunami target. Unlike them though, I’m now calm after I sought for information from the various corners of the Internets.
According to the news, the tsunami from Chile would hit the Philippines from 1 to 2:30 PM so I’m confident that if it actually happens, a lot of people would be spared as they are conscious. The news also mentioned that the government is not admonishing people to evacuate as the height is still yet to be known and is expected to be just around 1 meter to 3 meters which is not really a big deal.
The world’s strongest earthquake which happend in 1960 in Chile was around 3 meters to 13 meters high and killed 32 people from the Philippines. The latest Chile earthquake is not that strong and is just expected to wreck a lot of havoc in Hawaii. Don’t worry about Hawaii though as they already have a state-of-the-art tsunami warning infrastructure and is now evacuating lots of people to safer places.
I still feel a bit concerned about my relatives who are living in the Pacific areas of Southern Leyte which could definitely feel the waves, as well as Limasawa which is only a small island where most of it’s people are living at the coastlines.
Filipinos, specially the ones from Southern Leyte are religious and I may not be into that whole thing but I believe that if prayers were able to take down a powerful dictator in EDSA before, it also has the power to keep the Filipinos safe from this Chile tsunami. If ever I’m wrong though, then this might be my last post.
Meet Maasin City’s Urban Health Champion
Posted by Bendz in Ramblings & Rants on February 10, 2010
Urbanization is one of the greatest health challenges in the 21st century according to the World Health Organization. Based on their statistics, 6 out of 10 people will be city dwellers and by 2050, it will be 7 out of 10. The speed or urbanization, specially in developing countries such as the Philippines, has outpaced the government’s effort to build support infrastructure that can ascertain the optimum health, safety and security of its citizens. This might not seem like a real threat for us Maasinhons as we see more people leaving for Manila, Cebu and even to other cities abroad but we are getting there more sooner than later and we definitely don’t want to get caught with our pants on the ground when it happens.
With the assistance of the Department of Health and the World Health Organization, the city of Maasin intensified it’s Healthy City Initiative program starting with the strict implementation of public health and sanitation laws and ordinances, anti-drug campaigns, sports activities, as well as public awareness campaigns against unhealthy lifestyles. This would not have been possible without the hands-on leadership and political will of Mayor Maloney Samaco who made sure that this program is well funded and adequate man power is provided for sanitary evaluations as well proper enforcement.
Mayor Samaco has always been in the forefront of the Healthy City Initiative even when he was still the vice-mayor of the city and chairman of the Maasin City Sports Council, which he established to promote healthy lifestyle and instill discipline among the young people of Maasin. It was also during Mayor Samaco’s administration when the law against smoking in public places was strictly implemented throughout the city. To show that he means business, the mayor even went the extra mile and conducted an anti-smoking seminar to city hall employees who are smokers to help them quit the habit.
For his unwavering commitment to make Maasin a truly healthy city, Mayor Maloney Samaco is nominated as Maasin City’s Urban Health Champion in connection with the 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives Campaign of the World Health Organization, a healthy city advocacy campaign in connection with the 2010 World Health day.
If you believe someone else is deserving to be called an Urban Health Champion, all you have to do is create a video clip telling us why, just like above. You have to upload it to youtube then send the link to whd2010@wkc.who.int . Upon internal review at WHO, your entry would be posted to the site.
God and Scare Tactics Do Mix
Posted by Bendz in Ramblings & Rants on January 26, 2010
It’s the election season once again and we’re all in for an amazing ride filled with hypocrisy, blackmail, and the usual antics that turns politicians and their families into circus freaks in an attempt to gain popularity, notoriety and whatever it is that would catapult them to victory. In this part of the country, where local politicians are regarded as celebrities and even royalties, this season means a chance to play Perez Hilton or the guys on TMZ.
In an article posted on the Southern Leyte Times website, Victor Lerias, the father of gubernatorial candidate Dundeet Lerias and husband of mayoral candidate, Rosette Yniguez-Lerias, told the editor in an email that:
“People tell us that we do not have the resources to cope with rich and formidable political adversaries. Is our lack of monetary resource enough to quell our desire to offer better services to our people? Shall we wait until our beloved province becomes another Maguindanao? Shall we wait when these present leaders will have made the destruction of our province irreversible? Shall we wait until the powers of poverty shall have bound our peoples’ hands and feet?”
“We will not be out of resources if we make use of those means which God has placed in our power. The multitude of Southern Leytenos, armed with the cause of righteousness are invincible by any resources that our adversaries will use against us. Besides, we are not alone in this struggle. There is a just God who looks after the future of this beloved province and who will raise up our fellow southern Leytenos to help carry the burden of this struggle and catapult us to victory.”
The first paragraph makes me wanna shake the hands the person who told the Lerias camp to play the Ampatuan card so I can tell it to his face that it’s a crappy idea. The Mercado’s are not warlords and they don’t have hired guns to do their bidding. They may have security escorts with guns on their hands but everyone knows the Lerias camp have these sorts of people too. If Victor’s intention was to remind the people that Oging Mercado is capable of committing violence like what he did to Odong Saludo’s chopper during the 1998 elections, this could ultimately backfire on them for a number of reasons:
1. Rosette coalesced with Oging back in 2004 without any protest as to his tendencies towards violence and even helped the people understand how “To err is human and to forgive is divine”;
2. Odong Saludo, taking a shot at representing Southern Leyte again after his failed bid in 2004, seems to have dropped the case against Oging already. If they will paint the attempted murderer color on Oging again, then that would certainly make him an enabler;
3. People have already forgiven Oging and even re-elected him twice. They’re more interested on who Mian is sleeping with now and not on that old helicopter joke which involves a wig;
The second paragraph is kinda funny and is aimed at the readers’ sympathy. Funny, not because claiming that god is on one’s side sounds desperate but because in every endeavor, all politicians would say god is on their side however evil or vile they really are behind those smiles and candy-coated words. I’m sure Oging knows how to spin the god card in his favor again just like the past elections now that they’ve pulled it out and judging from past elections, he knows how to spin it well.
I am yet to hear a rebuttal from the Mercado side but I hope it does not have to do with god or any deity for that matter. God is losing his credibility thanks to priests and politicians who uses his/her name to get what they want. They’re all free to use satan though and I bet that’s gonna be something revolutionary.
Southern Leyte as I See It
Posted by Bendz in Ramblings & Rants on December 10, 2009
I am attempting to write a blog post about my home province of Southern Leyte while I am still spending some time away from work and the regular hustle and bustle of the city. I would have rather used the word vacation had the quarterly sickness demon spared me and sent the prosperity demon in his stead. I still consider it a blessing though as being on paid time off when I am fighting fever, sinusitis, and cough means that I would pass my performance metric for lost hours. The company of family when one is sick is, to borrow the famous word from Mastercard — PRICELESS
I do not know how to start a post about the province of Southern Leyte as most of the relevant facts that one needs to know about this section of the Philippines which was once, and perhaps still, is considered one of the poorest, is already available through Wikipedia. The Southern Leyte Hymn is also available in Imeem and another site which hosts national anthems and the likes. Even the Guinsaugon tragedy, which grabbed both national and international media attention is also widely covered in a lot of online newspapers and blogs. Even its political arena and every death match played on it is being shared by people who are chronically addicted to social networks or blogged about by some geek.
Southern Leyte is a cradle to almost half a million Cebuano, Boholano, and Waray-waray speaking people living in one of its 18 towns and one component city. I was born and raised mainly in its provincial capital, Maasin City, the official residence of my mother. My father hails from Sogod, located at the heart of the province, at the tip of Sogod Bay.
Agriculture and fisheries has always been the primary industry of the province and such is also the main source of our family income.
In the effort to boost the local economy, the Southern Leyte provincial government intensified its effort to make the province one of the primary tourism destinations for diving enthusiasts as well as those who love the outdoors. As income from tourism is hard to quantify, no one is still sure if the money invested on trade-fares and leaflets paid off.
I was lucky enough to visit all the municipalities that comprise Southern Leyte back when we were still campaigning for the provincial SK seat with then vice-mayor Maloney Samaco who now is up for re-election on his second term as mayor of Maasin City. All national highways are either paved or asphalted…some poorly and some are quite done well.
With exception to the City of Maasin and Sogod, most of the towns of Southern Leyte either lacks the people to make it seem lively or lacks the job openings to make people stay. The formally educated either goes back home to tend to crops, move to the city for jobs, or work for the local government. Check NSO for an accurate data on Southern Leyte to get the accurate numbers.
Southern Leyte is considered an election hot spot after Oging Mercado the current Congressional Representative of the lone district of Southern Leyte blew up and almost killed Odong Saludo who latter won the congressional seat against him during that election. I am totally bad with dates so google the juicy details if you like. The 2010 Southern Leyte elections is history repeating itself as the two are up against each other, again, in another battle for congressional representation. Odong lost to Oging in 2004 for the same seat and I believe Oging will win it again this time. It is rather hard to topple an incumbent official specially in a small province where one’s brother is governor, one’s son is the Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial President, and one’s opponent is widely known for being a total A-hole when it comes to dealing with his constituents.
I believe that it is best for me to stop here as the next lines could deal more on Soutern Leyte politics which I do not intend to do today and on this blog. The last paragraph on Southern Leyte politics is taxing to much on my fevered brain and off to sleep shall I go.
Home is Facebook
Posted by Bendz in Ramblings & Rants on September 30, 2009
It’s been almost a month since I got my own broadband connection at my apartment and until now I’m still in the middle of “unpacking the boxes”—boxed files, that is. My whole digital life is packed in one DVD and 5 CD optical drives containing old docs, photos, MP3, vids, blog templates and an unfinished Tantra Online Overlay for Friendster. Some files are hosted by online free storage spaces like Photobucket and Picasa as well.
I’ve lived without Internet connection for a year and eight months which felt like and eternity for someone who has been wired to cyberspace for three years. Of course I’ve had access to the web through the office and the Internet cafes but nothing can ever compare to having it in the privacy of your own home and without other people yelling “DAGAN!!!” as the try to rescue their DOTA characters from imminent death.
The Internet has now become something personal, something that you should have for your own and not to be a shared experience with other cafe users. I don’t know when it started, perhaps during the time when I don’t have on-demand access. Kinda reminds me of the time mom and takes me with her to a PLDT office and wait on queue as everyone takes turns to call their loved ones abroad. Now, phones are everywhere.
So, what have I missed since the last time I got Internet connection? Well, I lost track of my friends on Tantra Online, an online game that kept me up all night long before, I failed to write regularly on my blog, and I lost a lot of my online friends. But, thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I got a lot of them back. Not all yet but it’s getting there, hopefully.
It’s really amazing how logging in to a website makes you feel at home, with the people who shared a piece of your life story and still be able to continue sharing it with them. For instance, I got reunited with my grade one teacher who now is working in another country; I reconnected with Katrina Santiago and Mena Reyes who are both happily married; and mothers now with foreign last names; and, I now have tabs on my classmates who have chosen the nursing profession who’s going to, already in, planning to go to, and can’t go to the US.
Sadly, I don’t feel “at home” as much as I do when I’m on Facebook when I’m in Maasin cause it seems like all the people I know have gone somewhere else. Can’t blame them, I too left in search for new beginnings and a better job. It’s what you do when their is no other option, specially if you don’t know people. Can’t really blame anyone for life’s harsh realities. You just got to do what must be done even if it means moving away from the people and the place you’ve grown accustomed to and loved.
It’s almost Christmas and, although this will sound incoherent to the topic, I guess I could, as early as now, make a wish. I wish that people who gets to read this and knows me would add me to their Facebook friends list (facebook.com/bendzgerona). I promise to send you anything you want…through Facebook gifts. ^_~
