MY CANDIDATES for #Election2016

Lately, I have been very vocal campaigning against 2 presidential aspirants. I say NO to Binay (#NoToBinay2016) and a bigger NO to Duterte (#AntiDigong / #NoToDuterte2016). As I am campaigning against these two, I never had the time to campaign for the candidates I wanted to win.

Here is my Presidential candidate:




And my Vice-Presidential candidate:



As almost everybody is saying we need someone with "kamay na bakal", I would say we need more of a self-discipline with a leader who does not speak ill of other nations, who is humble enough to admit his faults, who does not steal, a leader with strong dignity and someone who does not take rape and murder as a hobby. Dignity and Integrity.



And Yes... I am NOT going for Alma Moreno.

BIGAS, BALA, BATUTA, SA KUMAKALAM NA SIKMURA

Isn't it depressing to think how the government can spend 30-35 MILLION PESOS for a one day EDSA event but fails to provide the basic food for its people. 

Minsan hindi natin lubos maunawaan kung bakit hindi maibigay ng ating gobyerno ang pangangailangan ng mga simpleng mamamayan na ang kagustuhan lang ay may maihain sa kanilang hapag kainan. 
When a 30 Million pesos is used to buy cavans of rice for these farmers. It should have been more than enough.
30 Million pesos was used for annual anniversary of EDSA where it benefits no one. One should be able to move on from the past.
Good governance is spending time and money for the people and for the people alone. Now I'm asking, where'd my taxes go?

On taxi fares and me, as a commuter

Taxis or cabs had been the most convenient way to bring me from and to a place I want. When I was working in a call center, it has been, most of the time my transport to work. I would say 95% of my transport was done through a cab.
Many a times, I was able to interview drivers. talk to them about current issues and argue about the fare and turning the meter on. There are drivers who are really rude. Yet most of the drivers I encountered were nice. Few, overly nice. Common denominator that we talk about  are the amount of boundery, the price of diesel, where others use LPG, and time of work.
People from the metro also praise taxi drivers when they visit my hometown in Baguio. Comments include non-air conditioned cabs and drivers who gives change up to the last centavo.
Lately though, LTFRB informed the public of lower flagdown rates, and longer waiting time.

As a commuter, I should be happy about it..
It has not been the case though. Thinking that the driver has family to feed, children to send to school, bounderies, electricity, water bills and rent to pay. This decrease is too much. It may have been fair if LTFRB can provide excellent service, provide license and plate numbers that has been long overdue. It may have been fair if price in the market, tuition fees, and utility bills are lowered as well.

Few tweets from #PiliPinasDebate2016 2nd League

Last March 20, 2016, The 2nd round of Pilipinas Debate for our President wanna be's took place. Here are few tweets from people who watched. Some of them worth digesting,

EDSA Revolution vs People Hunger

It is funny how the Philippine government would spend 30-35 millions of pesos for a day event when 30 million of Filipinos does not even have a decent meal in their plate, 30% of its population live in shanties, others are homeless, public schools does not have enough classroom and government offices would complain "kulang ang budget kaya hindi nagawa." 
Sometimes, the state of the country mostly depends on how the government use its resources.
The EDSA revolution may have a big impact on today's independence but it also is a depiction of politicians greed for position and power.

Pia Wurtzbach's Ecclesiastes 3 and Why Miss Germany is Bitter About The Pageant

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Several times in the past years, Pia Wurtzbach's name would always come up everytime Binibining Pilipinas pageant is around. And several times I would utter "na naman? sumali na naman siya?" (Again? She joined again?). Her name has always been around and within those years, she was not lucky enough to represent the country.

This year, when she was chosen to represent Philippines in Ms, Universe, I found myself mumbling "sa wakas.." (finally, at last..)

GOD'S PLAN
So many times God answers NO to what we really want. Many times we tend to want more but God would give lesser than expected. Many times God would answer WAIT and we take it as a big NO. Many times we feel disappointed with the results and regret about the effort we planted.

What happened to Pia is clearly a clear vision of God's plan. She joined Binibining Pilipinas several times. Heck, there also may have been times she joined amateur pageant that were not televised, unknown to the public. She went on. Win or lose, she still went on preparing for every pageant, doing better than the last.

When the time that she was chosen to represent the country, she walked the aisle not just a pretty face but a lady "confidently beautiful with a heart". Unlike other candidates who marched displaying all beauty and grace, she took home the crown. 

HER ANSWER
"Earlier this year, there was a controversy in the Philippines about the United States reopening a military base in your country. Do you think the United States should have a military presence in your country?"
PIA: ''I think that the US and Philippines have always had a good relationship with each other. We were colonized by the Americans and we have their culture and traditions even up to this day, I think we are very welcoming with the Americans and I don't see any problem with that at all."

Pia's answer opened some controversy with anti-American groups in the country. However, think of it this way people, "How would you like to answer the question in one of the busiest US state, infront of an American crowd, with the entire world watching and a limited, very limited time? I, myself, won't dare speak of a negative answer.
MISS COLOMBIA
As posts on social media says Miss Colombia was dethroned, robbed of the crown and embarrassed in front of millions, I'd say NO..
She was not dethroned. The throne was not hers in the first place.
She was not robbed of the crown. Again it was not hers to begin with. 
She was not embarrassed. In fact, she was saved from embarrassment. Imagine if she has the crown but Steve Harvey has not corrected himself. She would be called a winner by favor or a winner by manipulation. That would be more embarrasing. 

MISS GERMANY
As in any other competition, bitterness would spring from the bottom of the line. Why is Miss Germany bitter after all of this? Here's why:
1. She wanted the spot BUT, she does not have anything to brag. 
2. She wanted to share the limelight. 
3. Germans are cheering for Pia Wurtzbach's victory. They are not cheering for Sarah-Lorraine Riek who went home with nothing. That is because Pia, whether you like it or not, is also a German. 

Remember these few names: Bruno Mars, Vanessa Hudgens, Jasmine Trias, Jessica Sanchez..
Their common denominator is their Filipino blood. Pinoys are still proud of these celebrities because they are still Pinoys by blood. 
Same goes with the Germans. A half blooded German's victory is also their victory. 

From a BPI customer..

I have been a BPI customer for several years and I have never been disappointed until this very day.. I walked in at BPI Nueno and walked out after standing there for an hour, unhappy. I was not assisted. 

I understand that bank transactions should not be rushed but bank officers should be aware of the queue they would need to serve. Talking about where you rebonded your hair would not help at all. 

The moment you step within a bank, the guard should greet you with a smile (which I didn't get for today. The 2 guards never smiled.) I asked for a number for customer service and the guard asked "Anong gagawin mo?" That statement of manong guard is irritating. I may answer "makikipagchikahan manong.." I was there for a reason and I know what I need to do. I know he may need to ask a question to give me the right queue number but I think his question needs to be re-worded in a more respectful manner. 

BEA is a technological advancement that not everybody understands. It maybe easy and convinient for me, but it is complicated for others. Someone should always be around for assistance.

The place noisier than a fish market. What happened to your cellphone policy? Customers are playing candy crush with loud volumes and others are watching youtube without any earpiece, others are texting.

That tv screen should be maximized. I understand the need for adverstisement. Queue numbers are too small to see. In a scenario like this, queue numbers should be flashed once in a while in a bigger picture so tellers won't be shouting on top of their voices. And please remember, "Not all of your customers have 20/20 vision.."

Is there a place for senior cutizens here? A woman, in her senior (I think she was there before I walked in), has been standing for a long time since all seats have been occupied.

Reason why I keep BPI as my only bank is because of customer service. That the moment I walked in, it's not all-about-the-money.. Now, this branch blew it off.. 

Battle for Greatness: Humility Vs. Arrogance

It's been awhile. I haven't posted anything on my blog.

The issue between Mayweather and Pacquiao never missed the television screen for months now starting with the announcement that these two will be facing each other.... FINALLY...





The battle is more of the boxer's attitude.

HUMILITY versus ARROGANCE.

I go for humility. Humility is never a weakness. Humility itself is GREATNESS.

An open letter to SMART @SmartCares

Hi there,

Let me start by saying I am a homebase - freelancer. At home, we juggle our own time, we choose the job we want, we design our own contract and we work while being with our family.

We are the ones who does not face the computer for facebook. We are the ones who prefer not to battle with EDSA everyday. We are the ones who 
tries to battle unemployment rate by finding work that the government can't provide. 

We also rely to internet providers to complete our projects. 

In relation to this, I also would like to express my utmost disappointment to Smart's internet connection which started August 3, 2014. I was doing a project which costs $300 to be completed in 5 days. To my disgust, I was getting "CONNECT FAILED" error every time I attempt to connect to the internet. 

I was calm, I called customer service at 1 o'clock in the morning waited for more than 30 minutes for an agent over the phone. The representative gave me no reason why I was not able to go online. Got a load (prepaid), registered for a month's unlimited internet, and I cannot use it. I stayed up until 3AM wishful thinking that I will be able to be connected. Unfortunately, no success. 

I was able to browse the internet after 48 hours. Too late. The project was cancelled by my employer and I was not paid. 

The next day, a customer service representative called me to say my bill on my postpaid line is due. Here's a logic: My postpaid bill costs $80. You cost me $300. 

I let that go even though I was registered to the internet at that time, and I was not able to use it for 48 hours. 

I hate calling customer service. Such a waste of time!

September, same thing happens not once but twice. Again, your customer service people didn't help at all. A recorded script: "We will forward this to our technical team..." was the only response they can provide. 

And again, I did not bother to get credited for another, i mean 2 instances of 48 hours lost of internet connection for the month of September. 

These should be refunded right?

From October 1, until October 4, I am getting intermittent signal. Internet connection disconnects every 5 minutes. 

Since calling your customer service hotline is such a waste of time, I use twitter instead. 

Similar to your UNRELIABLE internet connection, your people are UNRELIABLE too. 

They're been asking for million times information via DM which I provided them ages ago. 

I am using my internet not for facebook only. I am using my internet to earn a living. To send my 2 brothers to college, to pay rent and other city services, to pay you guys and I am using my internet to feed myself.

I am spending almost 30,000 annually for smart. These includes my connection, my bill, and my brother's load. In return, I get shitty service.

Smart does not care about customer's. All they care about is stealing their customer's money.