Friday, June 27, 2008

Western Visayas Needs Your Help

TASK FORCE NOAH
for the victims of Typhoon Frank

Typhoon FRANK (International Codename: Fengsen) caused vast damages to lives, properties and livelihood of our follow countrymen over the weekend. As of the latest report, the number of casualties has been increasing. Damages were greatly felt in some regions where the actual path of the typhoon crossed. Almost all of the province of Iloilo is submerged in water. People are still stranded on top of the roofs of their houses for two days now in some towns of Iloilo. Other areas of the Visayas are also calling for aid.

General Information:

As of 23 June 2008:

10,000 families (40,000 individuals) affected of 20 provinces, 10,000 families are in 275 evacuation centers and increasing.

Under State of Calamity: Provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Masbate. Cities of Iloilo, Roxas, Zamboanga (selected areas). Municipalities in Bulacan-Paombong and Marilao

NDCC: Floods, storm surge and landslides mostly in the Visayas and Southern Tagalog have affected 366,444 people. Of the total number of affected people, 182,686 were in the Western Visayas, including 155,005 in Antique province alone.

Stranded 5,095 passengers, 288 rolling cargo, 90 trucks, 59 passenger buses, 48 small vehicles, and eight sea vessels.

ILOILO Facts
“BULIG ILOILO”

Philippine National Red Cross; based on field reports from PNRC staff, the death toll had reached 229, with 101 reported in Iloilo alone.

Iloilo Gov. Neil Tupas earlier said 59 people drowned in the province while another 40 were missing. “Almost all the towns are covered by water. It’s like an ocean,” Tupas said, adding thousands have been displaced in the province that is home to 1.7 million people.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque also said he received reports that the Aniway District Hospital in Iloilo, was submerged in floodwaters as deep as six feet.

Almost all of Iloilo’s 42 towns and this city, including those that had not previously experienced flooding, were under water according to Jerry Bionat, Executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).

Power outrage reported in Iloilo City; including Odiongan town, Romblon and Antique Province

Our contacts in the Philippine Air Force are willing to fly even round-the-clock relief operations for Typhoon Frank’s victims but unfortunately they tell us there are no relief goods to airlift. We are appealing for donations like ready-to-eat goods, water, clothing and/or cash/check for the victims of Typhoon Frank. Primary target of this initiatives are the heavily affected communities and areas not normally reached by relief operations. We intend to send the relief donations immediately for the urgent need of the victims.

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*DONATION MECHANISM*

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GOODS
You may directly donate your goods: ready-to-eat goods, clothing, water at Room 102 Cervini Residence Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Contact Person : Mr. Tim Gabuna
Trunkline : 426-6001 local 5932
Direct line : 426-6119
Mobile number : 0920-9609802

CASH/CHECK
Direct deposits may be made to:
SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN (Account Name/Payee)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
Peso Checking Account Number: 3081-1111-61
Dollar Savings Account Number: 3084-0420-12

Or channel to:

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City

Contact Information:
Landline : 426-6101 loc. 3440/3441
Telefax : 426-5968
Mobile : 0922-8600-752 (SUN-8600-SLB)
Web : www.slb.ph

Look for : Ms. Marj Tejada

For proper acknowledgement:

Please fax a copy of the validated deposit slip to SLB through telefax 426-5986

Kindly indicate contact information: Name, address, email, landline/mobile

Those who wish to be anonymous may skip this procedure

FOR GCASH TRANSACTION:
1. Any Globe or TM subscribers should be registered first in Gcash before doing any Gcash transaction.

2. To register, just text the syntax
REG_4 digit M-PIN/mother's maiden name/first name/last name/address and send to 2882
Ex: REG 1234/Getino/Liwanag/Ferdinand/766 Metrica St. Sampaloc Manila and send to 2882

3. When the subs already done with cash in, he may now able to do donate or any Gcash transaction he wanted

To Donate: Just text the syntax
DONATE_AMOUNT_4 digit M-PIN_INSTITUTION CODE and send to 2882
Ex. DONATE 100 1234 SLB and send to 2882

BRO. ISMAEL JOSE CHAN-GONZAGA, S.J.
Executive Director
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

MR. ADEL BRIONES
Associate Director, CCS
Ateneo School of Government
Convenor, ADMU DREAM TEAM

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Privatize Banaue Rice Terraces?

picture taken from www.wowphilippines.com.ph

I can't believe what I read at GMANews.TV which reported that an influential business group wants the government to privatize a handful of the country's major tourist spots, a move that they said will ensure the preservation of the areas.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and appointed tourism private sector chief Samie Lim said the Philippine Tourism Authority should sell some of its major assets which have the potential to become even more attractive to both foreign and local visitors.

Among those spots that should be privatized are the Banaue Rice Terraces, Picnic Grove and Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay City and Burnham Park in Baguio City.

Banaue Rice Terraces to be privatized? Well, I don't have problems with the Picnic Grove and Burnham Park to be privatized... but an "ancient" natural wonder (well it's man made technically) to be privatized is kinda below the belt. I believe that the government should let the private sector manage parks and beach resorts in able for them to be more tourist friendly and accessible (I don't know why but I find government managed parks and resorts are not that tourist friendly). Just an analogy... Would China privatize the Great Wall?

Lim said that by having private groups to manage the destinations, the country could have a better chance of attaining its goal of hitting some 10 million tourists arrivals by 2010. Department of Tourism (DOT) data showed the country accommodates an average of 3 million tourists annually.


Apart from this proposal, Lim is also raising the possibility of privatizing all the government-controlled duty-free shops. I don't have a problem with that,

You can privatized all you want but leave Banaue and other natural wonders alone.

Source: http://beta.ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20080603/tbs-businessmen-want-rice-terraces-other-1da90e5.html

Friday, June 20, 2008

I'm Off to Boracay... I'll be Back in a Jiffy!!!



This week is a very busy week here at the office so I'm looking forward for the weekend because I'll be in the most famous beach here in the Philippines... Boracay. I have been to this island for about 7x already but I still don't get tired observing the countless developments this little island endure for the past few decades. Even if there are issues whether the small island can sustain the various activities brought about by the boom in the tourism industry in the area no one can really stop the transformation of Boracay into a capitalist haven.

I love Boracay the most when I first saw its somewhat virgin beauty in the summer of 1996 when there is hardly a crowd even during the Holy Week holidays. Too bad I can't post pictures here of my Boracay sojourn in 1996 as the digital camera then is never heard of yet. I hope I can transfer some of my travel pictures taken using a film camera into a digital format so I can post them here in my blog.

So much for being sentimental about the "old" Boracay which I love more than the Boracay of today... I have to live with what that paradise island can still offer and I'm pretty sure that I will still enjoy my experience.

P.S.: I just hope that the f#ck%ng typhoon named Frank don't spoil our vacation. I pray that the prediction of PAGASA will be highly accurate and expect the typhoon to be not in direct threat to the Visayas region.


Thursday, June 12, 2008

Happy Birthday Pilipinas!!!

MABUHAY! Happy 110th Independence Day to the country which I love the most!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

This is the First Time! All-In Ticket Price!


I think this is the first time I heard of an airline sale at least here in the Philippines with airfares which include fuel surcharge, insurance, other government fees and the mandatory 12% VAT in its advertised price. I'm glad that this will be a permanent feature of budget carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) as it shifts to an "all-in" pricing format so passengers will immediately know the total amount they need to pay.

The 'all-in' pricing format is introduced with a seat sale across CEB’s domestic network. The promotional offer will run from June 12 to 22, 2008 and is valid for travel on July 1 to October 15, 2008. There are more than half a million seats allocated for this promotion.

'All-in' fares for short sectors such as Manila-Legaspi are at Php699 one-way while a one-way Manila-Cebu flight would cost Php999 and a Manila-Davao sector would cost only Php1,499 during the seat sale. At seat sale levels, these reduction represent savings of up to 56% over today’s rate.

As we all know that the price of petroleum products which includes jet fuel is in its all-time high so these ticket prices are almost a steal! This is the cheapest I think you can get a ticket comparable with the prices in the late 1990's. Based from my experience and if my memory serves me right, the last time a ticket to the Visayas region cost less than 1,000 bucks is way back 20 years ago.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Busuanga, Palawan via SEAIR


Why do I want to go to Busuanga? My answer is, who does not want to go to a paradise here on earth :) Whatever compliments or good words I say here in my blog to describe that destination would be an understatement.

Especially now that SEAIR joined that bandwagon of airlines in offering Busuanga as a gateway to El Nido and other Northern Palawan destinations I am now enticed to finally visit the best the Philippines' can offer.

Despite featuring SEAIR here in my travel blog a few times I haven't yet tried to fly with them, well maybe now is the right opportunity.

For more information on how to conveniently get to Busuanga and other SEAIR's paradise destinations just visit their website at http://www.flyseair.com

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

It Pays to be Studious... at least on SEAIR flights


Dean’s listers get 50% discount on SEAIR flights

Mechanics:

  1. The promo is open to all high school, college, and gradate school students enrolled in any school in the Philippines.
  2. Dean’s listers can avail a 50% discount in SEAIR flights for a period of one year after the end of the semester.
  3. Student must present latest school ID, grade report and certificate of dean’s lister status and must submit photocopies upon ticket purchase.
  4. Limited seats in all flights and in all destinations.
For more information visit http://www.flyseair.com or call (02) 849-0100

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Asia Promo Fares from Philippine Airlines


Below are the applicable routes:

US$ 108
Manila-Bangkok-Manila
Manila-Hong Kong-Manila
Manila-Jakarta-Manila
Manila-Saigon-Manila
Manila-Singapore-Manila
Manila-Shanghai-Manila
Manila-Taipei-Manila
Manila-Xiamen-Manila

US$ 168
Manila-Shanghai-Manila

US$ 268
Manila-Beijing-Manila

As usual, the above fares are exclusive of taxes, fees and surcharges.

This promotion is valid for sale and ticketing from 01 to 30 June 2008 and for travel effective 01 July until 15 October 2008. Travel must be completed by 15 October 2008 only.

For more information and bookings, call PAL Reservations in Manila: (02) 855-8888, Cebu: (032) 340-0191, Davao: (082) 222-0366 or your favorite travel agent.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Free 4R Prints from Cebu Pacific & Picatoo

Travel with Cebu Pacific Air and get your prints developed for free!



Travel from Mar 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008 with Cebu Pacific and you can get 20 x 4R prints from Picatoo for free! Just email (info@picatoo.com) a copy of your boarding pass by either scanning it or taking a digital photo of it. Picatoo will email you back a voucher code that you can use to claim your free 20 prints online.

For more info about this promotion just visit http://ceb.picatoo.com/Specials.aspx

Friday, May 23, 2008

1 MILLION FREE Seats from Malaysia Airlines


I thought only budget airlines offer FREE SEATS (Philippine Airlines came close with its 8-peso seat sale) , I was wrong and here is the reason. Malaysia Airlines (MH) is now offering its version of FREE SEATS to its ASEAN and domestic destinations. A roundtrip ticket from Manila to Kuala Lumpur (KL) or Kota Kinabalu (KK) will only cost you U$125 as of course you need to pay for the taxes and fuel surcharge on top of the FREE fare. By the way, this promotion is cheaper than the FREE seats sale last offered by budget carrier Cebu Pacific as all MH tickets to Malaysia include the PHP1,620 travel tax. Not bad for a multi-awarded 5-star airline (according to Skytrax UK). In its truest sense, a return ticket to KL is less than PHP4,000.

If you want to go to KL to see the Petronas Twin Towers or KK to climb the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia or in any other city in Southeast Asia that you fancy then you will be ecstatic with this news. More than 1,000,000 seats are on sale which will only run up to June 3, 2008 for travel from July 1 to December 14, 2008. For example, if you want to go to Phuket, Bali or Cambodia you can make KL your stopover city and in the end you will save some extra cash rather than taking Philippine Airlines or Cebu Pacific and another booking another flight to those destinations.

Malaysia Airlines is a 5-star "legacy airline" so you can expect all the services and amenities that no budget airline in the world offers including the "best cabin staff in the world" (from the World Travel Awards). And besides, MH is a multi-awarded airline so this promotion is almost hard to be true. I already tried and tested MH on 4 occasions (KK-Brunei, Brunei-KK, KK-Labuan, Labuan-KK) and I'm satisfied with all of those trips.

this is me at Kota Kinabalu International Airport waiting for our Brunei flight via MH



For more information about this insane promotion and to see the list of awards given to MH just visit http://www.malaysiaairlines.com

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Vietnam by the Numbers



The following are statistics I diligently compiled with only $150 as my tangible pocketmoney to spend for 4 days 3 nights in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I'm expecting to spend at least $100 but to my surprise I only need about $75 to decently tour Northern Vietnam in 3 full days. I have my international ATM card and 2 credit cards with me just in case of emergencies inlcuding "emergency shopping" like what I did at Vincom Tower supermarket. A supermarket near Hoan Kiem Lake does not accept plastic money so we have to go to a mall with a large supermarket. Additionally, my companion has more than enough $ to lasts us a few more days just in case we decide to extend our vacation, hahaha! ;p

I love Vietnam as it is one of the few places on earth where my hard-earned peso is worth a fortune. So in short, it will not hurt my savings that much.

I can't exclusively trust my memory so a few of the following might be just an estimate or assumption.

So much for the introduction, let's start adding:

1 month - time spent booking tickets, hotel, tours and looking for a personal tour guide
100 hrs. - total time spent researching about the culture and places to see in North Vietnam
4 hrs. - time spent at the office before going to the airport
$15 - cost of a taxi ride from Noi Bai International Airport to downtown Hanoi
at least 100- number of times the taxi driver honked at other motorists from our hotel until we reached Halong Bay
less than 15 - hours of total sleep in 4 days of travel
2 - number of taxi rides with a functioning legal meter
8 - number of times we crossed the streets fearing for our lives
6 - friends gained from other countries
2 - times I have been to Vietnam
1 - times I have been to Hanoi
1 - times I have been to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)
2 - malls/supemarkets visited
125 pesos - spent for my roaming SMS/calls
2 - number of souvenir t-shirts bought
10,000 dong - amount given to a buddhist monk as a donation
60,000 dong - total tips given to all the tour guides/hotel maid etc.
2 - hours spent leisurely rowing around Tam Coc
$1- tip given to the old woman boat rower in Tam Coc
815,500 dong - total credit card purchases
1 - t-shirt with a big yellow star in the middle design bought
0 - number of fellow Filipinos we met while touring Northern Vietnam
0 - ghosts appeared before me (you can't blame me as the room we stayed was a little bit old)
3 - bowls of Pho (Vietnamese noodles) devoured in under 5 minutes each
18 mins. - longest ride on a xe om (motorcycle)
4 hours 50 mins - total plane ride
2 - total bus ride around Northern Vietnam
3 - number of ice cream bars eaten. Our local ice cream brands are much better.
20+ - times I said "WOW" as I'm so impressed with the beauty of Halong Bay and Tam Coc.
4 - hours cruising the world famous Halong Bay
2 - hours spent rowing in Tam Coc
____________

TOTAL: 1 unforgettable trip which I would like to do over and over again :)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

500,000 Free Seats to All Destinations!


I'm just back from my Vietnam trip and what a perfect news this is... Cebu Pacific Air is offering 500,000 FREE Seats to all its domestic and international destinations for travel from June 9 to December 31, 2008. We all have until May 18 to buy our tickets. So much for the blabber, just go to http://www.cebupacificair.com now to see what I mean.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

I'm Off to Vietnam... I'll be Back in a Jiffy!


My long weekend will start tomorrow, Thursday, as I will set foot on Vietnamese soil for the second time but this will be my first time to be in the capital city of Hanoi. I enjoyed so much my first trip to the charming communist country Vietnam last August 2006 despite of the synchronize chaos of over 6 million people of Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon) that I can't wait to visit the country again. I'm expecting Hanoi to be less chaotic than Ho Chi Minh City merely based from the population which is only 3+ million.

I'm very excited to visit the famous Halong Bay which currently in top of the New 7 Wonders of Nature survey. I'm also excited to partake of the various noodles, vegetable wraps and other local delicacies as they are so cheap but very delicious and full of flavor.

As almost everything in Vietnam is cheap I'll bring an extra duffel bag which I intend to fill up with local groceries and of course souvenirs. The last time I was in that country I bought several packs of Vietnamese coffee, tea, Colgate herbal toothpaste, assorted candies, instant noodles, sausages and other preserved meat products, dried plums and fruits etc. etc. etc... I'm satisfied with all of them as the quality are mostly good.

This is all for this week... I'll be back in a jiffy!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

How to Navigate the Dreadful NAIA

departure lobby (taken from www.miaa.gov.ph )

It would be more pleasurable to have a root canal than to endure the torture of passing through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal I which is coincidentally the Philippines' premiere gateway. I have read countless of reviews of NAIA from different websites and the tone of the reviews are unanimous. They are all disappointed with the experience passing through NAIA. Well, I can't blame them. I'm not posting this to add fuel to the fire, rather I would like to "warn" first timers on what to expect so they will not have the shock of their life.

I'll be going to Vietnam in a few days so this post will also serve as a refresher for me on what to expect. I plan to arrive there 4 hours before my flight so I can access the Sampaguita Lounge to devour their famous arroz caldo and take a nap before my red-eye flight. If you have 400 pesos to spare it would be worth it to wait for your flight at the Sampaguita Lounge and partake of the mini buffet or just lie down on their several sleeper rooms rather than spending hours at those cold metal seats at the departure lounge.

To avoid any added inconvenience it would be advisable to go straight to the Travel Tax counter first after the first security check in case your ticket does not include the PHP1,620 fee before going to the check-in counters. As much as possible, prepare an exact amount as they sometimes having a hard time giving change to everyone who are paying PHP2,000.

After you checked your luggage and claimed your boarding pass you have to pay PHP750 for the terminal fee (It's free for Overseas Filipino Workers). For me it is the world's most expensive terminal fee given the current state of the airport. You can't even compare NAIA with some BUS terminals in Malaysia and Thailand so paying the amount twice of the current minimum wage here in the Philippines is an insult with robbery.

Be sure to keep your passport, plane ticket and other pertinent travel documents whenever you check-in to your flight and having your passport stamped at immigration to avoid being an inconvenience to those at the back of the queue. A friend told me to choose a young lady immigration officer as they are more nimble processing your passport than their male counterparts. For me I just choose the youngest of them all regardless of their gender as the "veterans" tend to take their time more.

It would be too easy to enumerate the facilities of the airport but it is very hard to list down what the airport lacks and the things to improve as you need a very long paper to write them all down. Maybe in my next post I will try very hard to write about the positive sides of NAIA. I just need to experience them this time.

Postscript: If you need more information about NAIA don't bother checking their website because it's useless. I'm trying to view the realtime arrivals and departure for each terminal and I keep on getting error messages and to add that it takes forever for the page to load even if I'm using a broadband Internet connection.