Inflatable Shark and Laughing Cicada Among 300 New Species Discovered in the Philippines

One of the designs by the Mark of the Four Waves Tribe, created specifically for the wearer of the tattoo.

(via tribe_members2)

May 2011. Manila Ocean Park, City of Manila | Water Prisons.

The Philippines’ Azkals will go through its first ever game for a FIFA 2014 World Cup slot.

It will be held later today at Sugathadasa Stadium, 4pm (UTC +5:30).

I do hope they win because I think that we can find our niche in the sport of football. I say this because I think that we aren’t really made for basketball.

Here’s an OLMNews report on Melissa Roxas’.  If you haven’t heard Melissa is a Filipino-American organizer who was a victim and survivor of abduction and torture sponsored by the Philippines state.  Read below for more info and also check out

http://justiceformelissa.org/

Shot out to the Bayan-USA folks for the emotional guerrilla theater piece. 

(from description:)

OLMNews reports on the 2nd year Anniversary of Melissa Roxas, Filipino-American activist from Los Angeles who was abducted by gunpoint along with two other colleagues Juanito Carebeo and John Edward Jandoc in broad daylight in a home they were visiting on May 19, 2009 in the town of La Paz, Tarlac in Philippines. Roxas, an American citizen was in the process of working on a project to collect research for a future medical mission for organization Bayan-Tarlac. Students and organizers from Bayan USA staged a re-enactment of Melissa’s abduction at Union Square SF then marched to the Filipino consulate to voice their concerns.

Roxas suffered severe physical and mental torture while being held captive from May 19-25 of 2009. Some of these torturous acts include being dragged to a van, being struck on the head and body, while being denied of food and water. These extreme acts against human rights activists are said to be blamed by the command of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who launched a counter insurgency program called Oplan Bantay Laya which received financial backing from the U.S. Government.

sunset by the cliff

- Basco, Batanes…

@ Calamba Church

Aliwan Fiesta

June 28, 2011.

Meet my brother, J.R., aka the guy who becomes antsy when he’s not doing anything. Even during vacations, he likes to keep his schedule pretty busy. And thus, he decided to spend a couple of days working at my family’s factory. Here he is getting ready, uniform and all. Our mom would have wanted to take a picture of this, kind of like a first-day-of-school picture. I didn’t wake up early enough for his first day, so I took this before his second day. He attended a two-day orientation, where he was able to drive a forklift, make a few boxes, know how to manufacture wiring harnesses, etc. He was even put on the assembly line—although he did put them behind by a lot. Haha. I give props to my brother. He’s probably the most masipag or hard-working person out of us siblings. Hands down. He picks up the slack and keeps me on track whenever I drop the ball on my Ate responsibilites that’s for sure. Hehe. Love ya, weirdooo. :-p

Inflatable Shark and Laughing Cicada Among 300 New Species Discovered in the Philippines:

All these new findings help support the idea that the Philippines “is one of the hottest of the hotspots for diverse and threatened life on Earth,” Gosliner said

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/27/inflatable-shark-and-laughing-cicada-among-300-new-species-discovered-in/

WOOOO GO PHILIPPINES!!!

Moments..that stay with you long after… by PNike on...

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

Seeing the Incubus Concert commercial on TV is getting me excited. I so can’t wait for July 28! XD

BELLIEF #12 is all about nails.

note: No concrete evidence has proven that these superstitious beliefs are true.

These beliefs are antique. Hope you like it. HISTORY.HISTORY.HISTORY.

Moments..that stay with you long after… by PNike on Flickr.

Just beyond the sunset
Someone waits for me
Just beyond the sunset
Lies my destiny…

Just Beyond The Sunset by David Harris

Photo

We’re invading facebook! It’s awesome that people are changing their profiles for the incoming MAFBEX this Wednesday. \m/

CSB SHRIM students, support your classmates during their competitions! Don’t forget to visit! June 15-19, 2011 at the World Trade Center.

Ticket price is only 50 pesos. See you there! :D

NOTE: Since abortion is an illegal act in the Philippines and other parts of the globe, the person’s identity, location and photograph will not be revealed in this interview. This provides security for the interviewee, the relatives and acquaintances.

10 QUESTIONS FOR AN ABORTIONIST

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death.

Meet GARY (not his real name), an abortionist.

QUESTION 1: Bakit niyo po naisipang maging isang abortionist? (Why did you decide to become an abortionist?)

GARY: Gipit kami sa buhay. Wala ng iba pang mapapasukan na trabaho. Hindi ako nakapagtapos kahit high school. Hindi na rin ako nakapagaral. Para sa akin, kaya kong kumapit sa patalim para lang mapakain at masuportahan ang pamilya ko. (We are poor. I don’t have a job since I wasn’t able to finish school. I wasn’t able to study too. I am willing to risk anything just for me to be able to provide my family’s needs.)

QUESTION 2: Ano po ang edad ng mga taong lumalapit sa inyo para magpaabort?(What is the average age of people who seek for abortion?)

GARY: Mga 17 o kaya 18. Madalas mga dalagita. Madalas nilang rason, takot sila sa maaring mangyari kapag nalaman ng mga magulang nila. (Around 17 to 18. Their primary reason for abortion is that they’re afraid to let their parents know about their pregnancy.)

QUESTION 3: Medical practitioner lang po ba dapat ang gumagawa ng abortion? (Is the process of abortion only done by medical practitioners?)

GARY: Iyon ay kapag legal pero minsan ginagawa din ng mga duktor iyon kasi may mga kaso para diyan. Depende sa nagbubuntis. Minsan kasi life or death na lang kapag buntis kapag may problema sa pagbubuntis o kaya minsan naman para mailigtas ang nagbubuntis sa anumang sakit na maaring magdulot kapag nanganak siya. (That is the case if it is legal but sometimes doctors do it too. There are many cases for it and these cases depend on the medical situation of the pregnant woman. Sometimes, safe abortion is done in order to save the life of the woman. Moreover, abortion is also done in order to lessen the risk illnesses or diseases that may affect the pregnant woman after delivery.)

QUESTION 4: Mayroon pa po bang ibang uri ng abortion? (Are there any other types of abortion?)

GARY: Miscarriage. Induced abortion ang tawag doon. (Miscarriage. It is often called as induced abortion.)

QUESTION 5: Maari niyo po ba iexplain ang paraan ng abortion ng mga hindi medical practitioner? (Can you explain the process of abortion done by non-medical practitioners?)

GARY: Paggamit ng abortifacient drugs o ang pampalaglag. Minsan may ibang proseso gaya ng paginject. (The use of abortifacient drugs. There are also injectables being used.)

QUESTION 6: Para sa inyo, mali ba o tama ang abortion? (For you, abortion is good or bad?)

GARY: Kung ibabase ko sa paniniwala ko, mali ang abortion. Pumapatay ka kasi ng inosenteng tao. Dapat maging responsable ka sa mga aksyon mo para hindi ka magsisi sa huli. (If I will base my answer on what I believe at, abortion is bad because you kill innocent people. You should be responsible with your actions so that you won’t regret anything.)

QUESTION 7: Maari po bang mamatay ang isang tao kapag nagpaabort siya? (Can a person die if she seeks for abortion?)

GARY: Oo, lalo na kapag hindi tama ang proseso. (Of course especially if the process is unhygienic and unsafe.)

QUESTION 8: Kapag nabigyan po kayo ng magandang trabaho, titigil po ba kayo sa pagiging abortionist? (If you are given a better job, will you stop being an abortionist?)

GARY: Oo siguro. Ayoko pumatay, ayoko talaga pero napipilitan ako dahil sa hirap ng buhay. Minsan napagtatanto ko, bakit ko ba ito ginagawa? Pera lang ba ang kapalit ng buhay? Hindi mangyayari na magiging mas mahalaga ang pera kaysa sa buhay. (Yes. I don’t want to kill but I am forced to since I am poor. Sometimes, I realize why am I doing this? Is money the replacement for the lives I kill? Never it will happen that the value of money will overshadow the value of life.)

QUESTION 9: Para sa iyo, may kasalanan ba ang mga nagpapaabort? (For you, do the people who seek for abortion commit sin?)

GARY: Oo. Kahit gaano man kaganda ang intensyon nila, kung mali naman ang proseso, wala rin. (Yes. No matter how good your intention is, if the process is bad, the whole thing becomes a sin.)

QUESTION 10: Pabor po ba kayo sa RH Bill? (Are you in favor of RH Bill?)

GARY: Hindi. (No.)

the chef

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Galera Boy
Puerto Galera, Philippines 

INDEPENDENCE DAY

June 12, 1898

I’m Proud Pinoy!

Old Manila

Here’s a Timeline of Philippine Marine Plunder

Sunrise. Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines (via).

On Sunday night, my cousin and his family came over to visit my grandma briefly as it was her last night in New Zealand. My parent were away at the laundromat to use the dryers so I was asked to watch over everything that’s being cooked.

Five minutes after my cousin arrived, his dad (my mum’s brother) arrived with his youngest son. Okay, so we knew that my cousin was going to come over with his family, but we had no idea that his dad was coming too.

My grandma told me to set the table and she then proceeded putting the food in serving dishes - and then she invited our guests to eat. Regular Filipino hospitality, yes, but I got quite anxious (and even a little bit angry) since that dinner was meant for my family alone. I know sharing is caring, but they really should’ve phoned before coming over.

The worst part was, they didn’t even politely refuse. They didn’t even say, “Ay, salamat! Busog pa kami, mamaya nalang kami kakain.” (“Oh, thanks! We’re still full, we’ll eat later!”) Instead, they took their places at the table and feasted! After they finished, my grandma asked me to bring the pavlova out. That was the last straw. I just told her, “Gran, the pavlova is for us.”

By the time my parents arrived I was a bit of a mess. I just wanted them all to leave. My dad, who doesn’t get on too well with the personalities of my mum’s brothers, didn’t say much. We ate whatever was left of dinner, which wasn’t very much. And then we did all the dishes before folding all the clothes they brought home from the laundromat.

What were our guests doing? Watching television and changing the channel however they please. My mum ended up serving them coffee and dessert.

Last night at dinner, as my grandma had already left, my mum told us how my cousin’s wife (who is Pakeha) came up to her at work and apologised. She said she told her husband that if they were going to eat dinner at our place, they had to buy food to contribute, however her husband reassured her that they were going to be there briefly. My mum brushed it off and said it was just a really bad habit of her brother to show up unannounced and expect to be fed, and she would expect nothing less of his sons.

It was nice how she apologised. I really like how she’s part of our family. I think I like her better than my cousins. :/

Boracay Sunset
Summer 2011 

coron, palawan

philippines

was AMAZING. I love that island! I couldn’t believe that in that small island, the population there is almost over 1 million! I loved my experience there, the mission trip was eye opening and I have grown and learnt a lot from it. Such a blessing it is being there and serving God for the Childrens Camp!

Got lots of pictures to put up, but that shall be for another day. Right now, all I’d wanna do is just knock out and catch up on much needed sleep. Transiting 12 hours in the airport with no airport rooms is KILLER. But thank God the team and I got through it all =D

Til next time, God bless!

Hello @TeamManila, are these available in SM outlets? Especially the tote bag. I really really like!

Lovin the sky :) #sky #orange #igersmanila #Philippines #eunheegalaxy (Taken with instagram)

What to Do Before, During and After a Storm in MIMAROPA: Landslides and floods are consequences of...

Here’s a Timeline of Philippine Marine Plunder

Show support and protect our marine environment!

Check out SavePHSeas for more information.