These photos are making the rounds of email (I got mine via DCO). They are part of a group of photos reportedly taken by Reuters photographers.

I picked out these two from among many (that showed the havoc and devastation), for the simple fact that despite the tragedy, the Filipinos in these photos are still all smiles. Even if you put the photos in perspective – they were receiving relief goods, it warms the heart to see the vaunted resilience of the Filipino spirit alive, and indeed, all smiles.

UPDATE 03 October 2009:  I was requested to delete the supposed letter from concerned Filipino citizens to J. Bermejo’s employer and I complied with the request. - Rob

ONDOY
It’s so heart-breaking to see photos and clips of Filipinos ravaged by Ondoy but there’s no space for hopelessness and helplessness.

Dennis and I, together with some friends, watched TV Patrol Linggo on TFC last night, while muching on pizza (by way of dinner). While we had moments of giggling and laughing (PLUs never have any dull moments), there were also a lot of tsk, tsk moments brought about by what we were seeing on TV.

This morning, one of them emailed us an account of what happened to his brother in San Mateo, Rizal, which truly brought the situation close to home, so to speak.

R. F. Lo, in his Funfare column today, quotes Kris Aquino thus: “that yes, indeed, the worst of times does bring out the best in everyone.” Already, a very good friend is spearheading the collection of funds and materials (old clothes) from among his email-based blog readers and friends, with his personal assurance that everything will be accounted for. 

I must count myself in.

PS (29Sept09)
The same very good friend I described above, listed the following information on his email-based blog; I’m reprinting below for all those who might need assistance as well as those who might want to help:

Rescue Operations
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) (+632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9115061, +632-9122665) Help hotlines: (+65 734-2118, 734-2120) ndcchelpdesk@gmail.com
Philippine Coast Guard (+632-5276136)
Air Force (+63908-1126976, +632-8535023)
Metro Manila Development Authority (136)
Marikina City Rescue (+632-6462436, +632-6462423, +632920-9072902) Pasig Rescue Emergency Number (+632-6310099)
Quezon City Rescue (161)
San Juan City Hall Command Post (+632-4681697)
Bureau of Fire Protection Region III (Central Luzon) Hotline: (+63245-9634376)
Senator Dick Gordon (+639178997898, +63938-444BOYS, +632-9342118, +632-4338528)
Senator Manny Villar (+639174226800. +639172414864, +639276751981)
Philippine National Red Cross (143, +632-5270000)
Philippine National Red Cross Rizal Chapter operations center hotline: (+632-6350922, +632-6347824)

Rubber boat and chopper requests
NCRPO (+632-8383203, +632-8383354)
Private citizens who would like to lend their motor boats for rescue please call emergency nos: +632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9122665, +632-9115061)
You can also text (+632917-4226800 or +632927-6751981) for rescue dump trucks.
For those who are able to lend 4×4 trucks for rescue: Please send truck to Greenhills Shopping Center Unimart Grocery to await deployment, Tel No. (+632920-9072902).
Petron & San Miguel Corporation are lending choppers for rescue operations, call/text: (+632917-8140655) ask for Lydia Ragasa

Power supply concerns
Meralco (+63917-5592824, 16211, +63920-9292824) If you want service cut off to your area to prevent fires and electrocution.
Donations of heavy duty flashlights needed for rescue operations in Cainta, Rizal area. Contact Cielo at (+632918-8824356)

E-Donations
SMS: text RED to 2899 (Globe) and 4483 (Smart)
G-Cash: text DONATEAMOUNT4-digit M-PINREDCROSS to 2882
TXTPOWER.org: Paypal, Smart Money (5577-5144-1866-7103), G-Cash (0917-9751092)
Cellphone services
FINDERSERVICE. For Smart, text wis to 386.
FINDERSERVICE. For Globe, text find to 7000.

Maps
A group composed of Serge Gregorio and Franklin Naval has put up an interactive rescue map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110868206150348750692.00047479b6400ee29bd89&ll=14.645791,121.107874&spn=0.107954,0.154324&source=embed) to locate victims in Marikina, one of the hardest hit areas by Ondoy.
To post a message for you on the map, use this web form: http://bit.ly/ondoymapresponse or email segregorio@gmail.com and franklin.naval@gmail.com.
Additional Ondoy Rescue Maps can be found at http://bit.ly/ondoylocator

Malls and commercial outlets
Aranaz Stores (Rockwell & Greenbelt) – accepting donations of any kind for Payatas communities
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (all branches) – canned goods, water, clothes, blankets, towels, medicine, and emergency supplies (no cash)
Luca stores (Rockwell, Shangri-la, Eastwood, or GA Towers) – Send your old clothes & donations (no cash pls)
Moonshine boutique (Rockwell) – accepting relief goods to help Ondoy victims in Marikina and Cainta.
Papemelroti stores (91 Roces Ave. / Ali Mall Cubao / SM City North EDSA / SM Fairview / SM Megamall / Glorietta 3 in Makati / SM Centerpoint / SM Southmall) – accepting relief goods (canned goods / milk / bottled water / clothes – NO CASH pls.)
Team Manila stores in Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell shall be accepting relief goods (Canned Goods, Ready-to-drink Milk, Bottled Water and Clothes) for distribution by Veritas.

Government and relief agencies
Akbayan – taking donations, call 433-69-33/433-68-31 to donate or volunteer.
Move for Chiz – asking for volunteers at Bay Park Tent, along Roxas Blvd., beside Max Restaurant and Diamond Hotel in Manila, or at Gilas Minipark at Unang Hakbang St., Gilas Q.C.
Worldvision Foundation – accepting donations/volunteers to pack relief goods in QC. For $ donations, BPI:USD acct #4254-0050-08
Philippine National Red Cross – visit their site HERE for various ways to donate.
Senator Francis Pangilinan is accepting donations @ AGS Bldg Annex, 446 EDSA Guadalupe Viejo. Contact Vina Vargas at (+632917-8081247)

Mandaluyong/San Juan
La Salle Greenhills – drop off your donations (clothes, food, etc) at Gate 2 on Monday, September 28, or volunteer from 9am to receive, sort, repack the donations.
Xavier School – canned goods, bread, noodles. Please bring to Multipurpose Center (MPC). Accepted till Monday, Sept. 28.

Manila
Caritas Manila Office (Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge) – call +632-5639298, +632-5639308
Ministop Ibarra (Espana cor. Blumentritt, Sampaloc Manila) – Food (non-perishable goods only) Clothing, Medicines, Beds, Pillows, Blankets, Emergency Supplies

Muntinlupa
Hillsborough Village Chapel – Water, blankets, shoes, and clothes. These will go to families whose houses were washed out in the nearby sitios.

Parañaque
Operation Rainbow (Zac Faelnar Camara) at Ayala Alabang Village – needs Canned Goods, Ready-To-Eat Food, Bottled Water, Ready-To-Drink Milk/ Juice, Clothing, Blankets, contact (+632-4687991)
Playschool International (47 Ghana St., Better Living Subd., Paranaque) – open to receive donations (NO CASH, PLS) for relief goods. Please feel free to send your donations there. Teachers/staff will coordinate sending these to the centers.

Pasig
Miriam Quiambao – drop off point: One Orchard Road Building in Eastwood, or message http://www.twitter.com/miriamq for more details.
Relief Efforts for Pasig at Valle Verde 1 Village Park – contact +632916-4945000, +632917-5273616
Renaissance Fitness Center (2nd Floor, Bramante Building, Renaissance Towers Ortigas, Meralco Avenue) – Donations can be brought starting Monday, September 28/9am – 7pm. Contact Person: Warren Habaluyas (+632929-8713488) or email at luzonrelief@gmail.com

Quezon City
ABS-CBN through Banco de Oro account number 56300-20111; account name: ABS-CBN Foundation Incorporation (NOTE: This account # needs verification because on the ABS-CBN Foundation website, the account # is 5630060113)
Ateneo de Manila University – cooked or ready-to-eat food, clothes, medicine, blankets, water. Donations may be dropped off at the MVP, University Dorm, or Cervini lobbies. Also needed: volunteers for relief operations today, Sept. 27. Bring boots, shovels, large vehicles or small watercraft. For donations/inquiries, please contact (0908) 887-7166.
Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health is accepting donations of medicines. A center in Pasig has more than 1,000 evacuees, mostly kids suffering from colds and fever. Call Louie Montalbo: (0918) 936-2095.
Citizens Disaster Response Center (CDRC) – Relief goods for typhoon victims being accepted at 72-A Times St., West Triangle, QC. Tel (+632-9299820/22)
Erica Paredes (Katipunan), +63917-4741930 – they need bread, packed juice, sandwich filling (tuna, chicken, anything) You can help her make them, deliver the sandwiches to her house, or help her distribute! Call for more details.
Manor Superclub (Eastwood City) – will accept goods and other emergency items starting Sunday, September 27, at 10 am.
NoyMar Relief Operations – contact Clare Amador (+63928 520 5508) or Jana Vicente (+63928 520 5499). Drop-off for relief donations is at Balay Expo Center across Farmers Market Cubao.
Our Lady of Pentecost Parish (12 F. Dela Rosa corner C. Salvador Sts., Loyola Heights, Quezon City) – call +632-4342397, +632-9290665
Philippine Army Gym (inside Fort Bonifacio) or GHQ Gym (Camp Aguinaldo) – now distributing donations for Ondoy Victims.
Radio Veritas (Veritas Tower West Ave. cor EDSA) – call +632-9257931 to 40
Tulong Bayan, Cubao – needs clothes, salt and cooking oil in sachets: 0908-6579998, 0939-3633436, 9137122

Within the Philippines
Red Cross Load Donations – Right now the easiest way to make donations from the seat of your chair is via mobile phone load. The Red Cross Rescue and Relief Operations. To donate, text RED and send to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart). You can donate 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 300 pesos.
TxtPower – now accepts donations via SmartMoney 5577514418667103, GCash 09179751092 and Paypal.

Outside the Philippines
Worldvision Foundation – For $ donations, BPI:USD acct #4254-0050-08 Anna Valmero

CORY AQUINO – LIFE AND DEATH COVERAGE
A good friend who spent the Eid holidays in the Philippines kindly brought me pasalubong of piayaya and otap. As well, he brought me kiamoy and magazines courtesy of one of my brothers. The magazines were the YES! September 2009 issue covering the wake of Cory and an ABS-CBN publication (Paalam, Cory – An ABS-CBN Commemorative Special) dedicated solely to Cory’s life and death.

 

E. Lopez (Head, ABS-CBN Publishing) wrote: Thus we offer this small tribute to Cory Aquino, because we believe that in telling her story well, in words and images, helps to spread her values among our people…. We do this tribute in part to help today’s generation know and understand why for five unforgettable days the nation wept for a woman in yellow….

For me, this commemorative special not only truly told her story well but told it movingly. I read the whole magazine with a lump in my throat.

For her part, J. Q. Maglipon wrote in her YES! Editor’s Note: …your own private farewell to Cory. You have 140 pictures spread over 32 pages, detailed research and solid writing, all keeping you company, but in the end the emotion is yours to define…. 

Mine are touched, moved and inspired.

Finally, I just had to clip this PLDT that was in the ABS-CBN magazine -

which I believe ranks up there with what Gibbs Cadiz once featured in his blog (http://gibbscadiz.blogspot.com/2009/09/ads-that-make-you-go-yesss.html) -

“DED NA SI LOLO”
The recent news that this film by Soxy Topacio has been chosen by the Film Academy of the Philippines to represent the country at the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, re-ignited our interest in it. I have read raves in several blogs about the film. TFC also featured it in a Pay-Per-View format and showed a teaser that really tickled us.

Dennis and I were able to watch it last night, finally.

It is a good film when it’s serious; it is maybe even exceptional when it is funny.

It helps a lot that a lot of the performers in the film are really exceptional – mga premyado.

What I like about it is its honest depiction of what many Filipino families go through when one of their members dies. I’m not just referring to the many pamahiin (superstitions); I’m also referring to all the drama that accompanies the wake and the burial that are best exemplified by the himatayan (losing consciousness) scenes.  

Soxy’s approach is predominantly comic, which makes his take on social realism funny and light but thought-provoking in equal measure. Soxy’s PETA and Lino Brocka backgrounds/influcences  easily lend themselves to the so-called delicate parts of the story such as when it was revealed that the mother of the featured grieving siblings (played by Dick Israel, Elizabeth Oropesa, Gina Alajar, Roderick Paulate and Manilyn Reynes) was not the dead lolo’s first wife –  they are dramatic but not overly so and triumphantly touch the heart.

Social commentary is also frequent but given in light doses that sometimes, you may even miss it. In one such scene, Gina’s and Manilyn’s characters were busy preparing food for the expected visitors at the wake. They were spreading something inside sliced pandesal (literally, bread of salt), when one of them commented that the pandesal continues to shrink (paliit na nang paliit). It’s actually a sly comment on a Filipino family’s feeding staple, much like the derided galunggong.

But the most telling of the themes tackled in the film is the subject of gay men and Philippine society’s continuing perplexed/confused reaction to PLUs.

Soxy is unabashedly gay – it was he who popularized Neneng in the defunct RPN 9 sitcom  ”Duplex” that starred the late Ading Fernando and Marissa Delgado and which also made a breakthrough star out of Janice Jurado. It was Soxy’s Neneng who found nothing wrong if he is called derogatory names just as long as the name is in the feminine form. Neneng would happily purr, “Tinawag nya akong gaga.”

In Roderick’s and his friends’ flamboyant gays (they were supposed to be club impersonators) and in Reiner Castillo’s straight-acting/looking but budding gay, Soxy seemed to want to portray two types but which types do not seem to matter to society since both are gays. The flamboyant gays were always treated as if they are the equivalent of scandals while the straight-acting/looking (and handsome) gay is sayang (what a waste!).    

But just as much as Soxy showed the biases and the prejudices, he, more importantly, tackled each head on. It was actually left to Roderick’s character to pary all the blows. In one scene, he frankly describes one of the prejudiced ones as  homophobic and gets away with it. And by getting his Babe (a young good-looking man shown to benefit from Roderick’s generosity but who seemed sincere in reciprocating Roderick’s affections) to be part of the grieving family (as when he asked him to sprinke holy water on the dead lolo before his casket is closed, with no one negatively reacting), Roderick’s gay man seemed to have overcome the obvious obstacles. 

I read somewhere that the film’s story is from Soxy’s own experiences growing up. If true, then what a young life it had been for him!

But come to think of it, it may not be as different as yours or mine.

My Bebe became a year older yesterday (Sept. 26). I am happy that he felt so loved yesterday. Family and friends sent him messages (through text, calls, email and FaceBook) that truly warmed his heart. There were so many messages sent to his phone that it eventually died on him. Na-low batt which meant he lost all the text messages that came his way. (He has been lately using his LG as his main phone and one of the downsides to the phone is it loses all your text messages once its battery goes kaput.)

For my part, I (and good friend Jam) treated him to Japanese food and picked up his gift of a Bravia on our way home.

I must say that my Bebe was a happy and contented birthday boy yesterday.

To mark the Islamic Eid celebrations, our office was closed for a total of 10 days, allowing me a really long sabbatical from work.

Dennis and I, along with friend Jam, spent the greater part of the break in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province, including a few trips to the beach and a brief stay in Manama – for dining at The Swan, frolicking at The Lost Paradise of Dilmun (TLPOD) and finally, movie-watching at Seef Mall.

We found the mall to be too crowded; there were a lot of young people, reminding us of scenes at our malls in Manila. We could hardly find empty seats at the food court when we tried to eat something first before watching the movie we picked.

We watched “District 9.” It was a dizzying experience. Apart from the fact that we were seated so close to the moviescreen – the theater was fully-booked – the film’s photography was so jerky, reminiscent of a documentary being filmed with a hand-held camera. But the film’s story was fascinating (even touching toward the end) even if it started quite uninterestingly. I saw the movie armed with reviews I read on the Internet that the treatment of the “prawns” was akin to the discrimination against the blacks in South Africa. I also read a favorite blogger’s account of how she had to walk out of the movie right smack at the middle. She should have stayed put and watched it till the end. The ending is attuned to her progressive thinking. But these are beside the point. I watched it for lack of a better alternative. I was hoping we could still catch “The Proposal” but it was no longer on. That Peter Jackson (of “The Lord of the Rings” fame)  lent his formidable name to the movie also convinced me to go watch it.

Our stay at TLPOD was uneventful except for the fact that Dennis lost one of his slippers. He went looking for it to no avail. The waves were a big let-down this time but when the sun went down, they showed clips of a concert and then a full-length film at the wave pool area. A group of young Arabs dancing merrily to pounding Arabic music also gave us unexpected entertainment. (There were a lot of people dancing actually but this group was truly energetic. It did not hurt that one or two of them were real eye-candies, he he.)

Back in Riyadh, I spent a lot of time watching clips and movies on my laptop till the wee hours of the morning. I got so used to the sleeping late at night and into the mid-morning that I now find it quite difficult to get my rythmn back.

I feel like I’m going to need another vacation to recover.

I was on a movie-watching marathon last night. I started with short films (on Youtube) and ended up re-viewing an old gay-themed movie.

I was struck by what the leading lady said the night before she was to be married. She was about to move to a hotel room and she was feeling antsy. The groom’s gay friend was trying to comfort her. At one point of their interaction, the bride tried on the wedding gown so the gay friend can share his comments. One of the comments that immediately came out of the gay friend was something to the effect that brides are at their loveliest and happiest on their wedding. He added that she was so beautiful that it could be the reason why the groom is marrying her.

The bride reflected on those comments a bit and realized to her horror that if she was going to be loveliest and happiest on her wedding, would it mean downhill for her from then on?

The film of course had a way of getting around the question toward the end by emphasizing that marriages are not just ceremonies, they are commitments, etcetera, etcetera.

But truly, what the bride realized struck a chord with me.

But even as it stayed at the back of my mind, I proceeded with the marathon and started re-viewing the Star Wars movies. I began late last night with Episode 1. I’ll let you know if ever I reach Episode VI.

The Cory Aquino Bag!

From http://blogs.stylebible.ph/rajosblog/

September 8th, 2009

I just wanted to share with you my latest project with Rags2Riches. In cooperation with the Eastwood Mall, I designed a shopping bag in tribute to the late president Mrs. Cory Aquino. This is the second time that I have done this for them, and since the first project was so very well received, I obliged to do the Cory Aquino edition.

I thought the project was so perfect because I consider Mrs. Aquino as a symbol of motherhood for the Philippines, and the project involves the mothers of the poorest areas in the country. When I arrived at Eastwood Mall, the bags were already sold out! There is now a waiting list for the bags and it will be available next week! The bag is 600 Pesos and all the proceeds will be shared by the Rags2Riches and the Ninoy Aquino Foundation.  Please support my project and let’s reinforce the cycle of goodness!

We are still using the same design philosophies that have been the main ethos of the R2R project: sustainability and recycled earth-friendly materials. 

The Nanay Leaders of Payatas proudly showing their creations! 

 

Me and Nanays! 

 

Bam Aquino represented the Family of Mrs. Aquino and the Ninoy Aquino foundation. 

 

Please help our cause and improve the lives of so many Filipinos in need! 

 

Please help our cause and improve the lives of so many Filipinos in need! 

HUGS!
RAJO!

GO FIGURE 1
One day, a local asked me to get his mobile phone recharge cards reimbursed. I told him those were not reimbursable as he gets a monthly allowance for them. I asked our Finance guy – who also handles payroll – to explain the issue to him, in Arabic. The next day, he approached his immediate superior (an Asian expat) and apparently brought up the issue with him too/again. The superior then phoned me to explain what the local wanted. I told the superior that the issue was explained to the local  already, and in Arabic to boot, so what good will his or my explanation (in English) be, if he apprarently did not understand a prior explanation in Arabic?

GO FIGURE 2
I phoned a company that provides office partitions and so-called office systems. To call, I used a landline number printed on its leaflet/flyer. There was no response so I tried the mobile phone that was also listed. As soon as it rang, I said hello and identified myself, and asked who the person on the line is. He said, and in a quite irritating manner, that I was the one who called and so I was supposed to know who I was calling. At this, and much to my chagrin later on, my blood pressure rose and in the same tone he used with me earlier, I told him I got his number from a leaflet/flyer his company distributed but which did not identify any person associated with the mobile number. I asked him then what I was supposed to do, guess? I also told him it was quite weird and unbecoming to be responding to callers that way – callers who may be potential customers. I introduced myself early on and so his excuse that he usually gets prank calls, was lame. It was good he apologized, so I went back to professional mode in a jiffy.

UNITY
Umiinit muli ang battlecry ng opposition to unite kuno behind a common presidential candidate for the 2010 elections. Nafo-force ang issue dahil sa revived popularity of the Aquinos which started with Corazon Aquino’s death and funeral, and the emergence of NoyNoy Aquino as a possible opposition presidential candidate, if only to bear the mantle of his famous, if not revered, parents and the ideals and aspirations that they represented.

Habang nadidinig ko ang reports on TV at nababasa ang news sa mga online papers, iniisip ko kung bakit ang lakas ng dating ng catchphrase na “unite the opposition”? Kung tutuusin, wala naman talagang genuine opposition sa Philippine politics. There are a lot of people opposed to the current administration but these same people are no different, at least politically, from the politics of the current administration.

If people are hoping for a presidential candidacy out of NoyNoy Aquino, the question that must be answered, at least to my mind, is not if he is the real opposition but more importantly, if he represents genuine and positive change.

There’s a new steak resto in town called Steaky.

Dennis and I did not really mean to eat there last night. Earlier, I asked Dennis if I can forgo cooking last night since I was pooped. He readily agreed. It was already past 7 pm – the iftar rush had dissipated by then. We hoped to go to our favorite chicken brosted resto but it was closed. We decided on pasta. We were on our way to Pizza Co. along Oleya when we spotted Steaky. We made a hasty decision to dine there and then as we have been passing by it for quite some time now and we haven’t tried it.

We went inside and realized we were the only diners at that ungodly hour.

We joked with the server that the place looks a lot like Steakhouse (a more popular steak resto in Saudi). He retorted that they have better-tasting food.

Dennis didn’t order steak; he went for the chicken Ceasar to match my grilled jumbo shrimps. He also had soup. There was no roll – the server said they were out of stock even as he later served my dish with a piece of roll on the side. We both had Bario to wash down the food.

The chicken Ceasar was ok enough – it had raw egg but it was watery. Dennis asked for extra parmesan which confounded the server a bit. It took him awhile to serve it.

The jumbo shrimps were really huge. There were only three pieces (indicated as much in the menu) but they were grilled perfectly. There were bits of blanched broccoli and julienned carrots on the side but because the dish was served on a hot plate, the veggies were so limp when they got to the table. The brownish barbecue-flavored dip  seemed inappropriate for the grilled shrimps. I therefore set it aside and attacked portions of Dennis’ chicken Ceasar instead to go with the shrimps.

Bario was served in truly-chilled old-fashioned mugs. Refreshing!

It was already prayer time but we have yet to finish our meal and so we opted to go for dessert as well.

We chose banana split – thinking we’re going for a classic – and was promptly disappointed. It was served on a flat round plate with three uneven scoops of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and what tasted like caramelized bits of walnuts.

When we finished and the resto still has to open, I asked Dennis to pose for me. He was only too willing as he just had a haircut.