Monday, December 13, 2010

Lame Lane!




When the MMDA proudly announced a couple of weeks before Christmas that they were going to open up new Mabuhay or Christmas Lanes to decongest traffic during the Yuletide season, I  was quite skeptical. As I am sure many others were too. I just couldn't imagine where these so called alternatives routes would be. Unless the MMDA was suddenly able to gain public access to the exclusive villages surrounding EDSA and other main thorough fares. Something even the iron-handed Bayani Fernando couldn't do during his reign.

And true enough, as it turned out, there were no new roads. The MMDA simply labelled routes which motorists have long been using as alternatives to EDSA.

Sad. Again the MMDA disappoints.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Dear Mr. Globe,


Is that a cell site on your back? If it is, could you please hang out more often in my neighborhood? I live in Woodside Homes at the end of Hemady Street in New Manila, Quezon City.

You see, ever since Typhoon Ondoy hit our country over a year ago your signal has gone down from a full four bar to a measly one bar at best. And despite repeated calls to customer support, the signal strength has never been restored.

I hope you can accommodate me. I will even have coffee and fully loaded merienda ready for you when you come. Just drop by please.

Dear Mr. Counterfeiter,

Mang gagaya ka lang din, e sana pinagbutihan mo na. Next time, sana tama na ang spelling ha. Just do et!



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Akala Ko Hindi na Puede ang "Puede Na?"

In President Aquino's inauguration speech which I personally witnessed last 30 June 2010 in the Luneta, one of the more applauded portions touched on public works.

"Mula ngayon, hindi na puwede ang “puwede na” pagdating sa mga kalye, tulay at gusali dahil magiging responsibilidad ng mga kontratista ang panatilihing nasa mabuting kalagayan ang mga proyekto nila."

"From now on, mediocre work will not be good enough when it comes to roads, bridges, and buildings because we will hold contractors responsible for maintaining their projects in good condition."

I wonder if anyone in the DPWH and the Quezon City local government was listening or even understood just what the president was saying. Or maybe they've simply just refused to follow his orders.

At roughly the same time, around the last week of June 2010, just outside our village in New Manila, Quezon City, work began on a portion of Hemady Street beginning at the corner of E. Rodriguez Ave. The job entailed replacing the asphalt with concrete and as expected took a while to finish.


By the end of August, all that remained to be done was finish the gutters and cover the manholes that of course, were destroyed by the construction. But then the workers disappeared. And never came back. It's as if the contractor was saying, "hey, we were only tasked with putting concrete on the road. We are not responsible for the gutters and manholes. Puede na yan!"




And so it remains. To this day. We have a nice concrete road but gaping and dangerous holes where gutters and manholes used to be.


Ay naku. Puede ba? Hindi yan puede!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Faces Back on Billboards



The PNoy government is barely 100 days old and already a number of local politicians have already defied guidelines imposed by the new administration. Department Order No. 37 of the Department of Public Works and Highways issued last 6 August 2010 orders that "name(s) and/or picture(s) of any personages should not appear in the billboard" of any on-going project being undertaken by the department.

Yes, the projects pictured above may not be under the DPWH. The first stands in front of the San Juan municipal cemetery along Santolan Road while the second is at the end of Tomas Morato on E. Rodriguez Avenue. I can just hear them say that they are not breaking any law since these are not covered by the department order. I can also hear them already claiming that no public funds was used for these billboards. Kapal muks talaga.

Here we go again. Politicians who make excuses by sticking to the letter of the law instead of following the spirit under which the law was made. So sad. When oh when will real change happen? When oh when will our country make an about face? For let's face it, no matter how good intentioned a leader is, we must all do our part in effecting change.

Monday, September 13, 2010

So was this a legit police operation?

I saw this from my 3rd floor office window at the corner of Tomas Morato and Scout Delgado in Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City at around 11:40 am this morning. A man in the front passenger seat of a gray Honda Civic (license plate ZRC 175) jumped out of the car as it stopped because of the traffic. Two men, the driver and another one seated in the back,ran and caught up with the first guy who now tried to hang on to the railings by the road side.


The struggle then turned into a wrestling match as the two tried to pin down the apparent fugitive. The whole drama, watched by dozens of bystanders, lasted between five to eight minutes and only ended when reinforcements in motorcycles arrived with handcuffs. Only then was the fugitive returned to the car and the whole convoy sped off.

Everyone watched in shock. The scene was all too confusing. Who were the good guys? Who was the victim? Were we watching a police arrest? Or was this an attempted kidnapping?

It certainly did not help that no one was in uniform. And that they all looked like goons.

And when it was all over talk on the street was that the man without a shirt was a suspected drug dealer trying to run away from the other men were drug enforcement agents.

We wanted to call the police but didn't know the number. We did call the barangay in the hope that they would call the nearest police station. But as usual, no one showed up until a good thirty minutes after.

Interestingly, the security guards from the two banks nearby did not interfere. In fact both banks went on emergency mode and closed down their facilities. They were suspicious of the whole thing, fearing that it was just a ruse to distract the guards so as to allow accomplices from robbing the banks.

Such is the sad state of peace and order in the country. We now can't tell the criminals from the police.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Noy's Barrage!

We all went. Patty, Gabi and Bela. With Yaya Tem and Paula. Last 6 April 2010. To the corner of Timog and Quezon Boulevard. To make noise for Noy's presidential bid.

We came armed with our own kalderos. And we were prepared to use them all night. But our sandoks soon gave way. It's a good thing someone came with a whole supot of whistles. Yellow whistles at that.

It was fun. And having the kids with us just reinforced our conviction that an Aquino-Roxas administration is what's best for our country's future.

Noy Doll


Of all the campaign paraphernalia going around, this is my hands down favorite. It's Bela's too.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Up, Up and Away!


Why spend a ton of money getting showbiz personalities to endorse your campaign when you can just as easily ride on the popularity of everyone's favorite heroes for practically nothing? Unless of course DC Comics gets a whiff of this apparent breach of copyright.

I wonder what the candidate's slogan is. Truth, Justice and the Quezon City way?

I like the poster so much that I might just vote for the dummy. The one with a cape, that is.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Is that you, Jinggoy?


Is the Erap camp really lacking in funds that it now has to resort to using really old photos of the former president for its campaign posters? This photo looks like it was taken thirty years ago. Probably for a movie. He really looks like Kumander Alibasbas here.

Here Erap also looks like Jinggoy ten years ago. Before he lost all that weight. And all the pomada.


Learn from your son, Mr. Ex-President. Get rid of the old photos. Shed off the old macho guapito look. 

You'll look much better. More dignified. More wise. 

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Gilmore Boys



I call them the Gilmore Boys. Those yellow-clad traffic enforcers who instead of directing traffic in the busy intersections along E. Rodriguez Avenue in New Manila, Quezon City, choose to position themselves several meters past the intersections, many times hiding behind posts or trees.

They're not there to help with traffic. They're there to apprehend as many violators as they can and extort them to death.

And who said a government job did not pay well?

Grumpy Old Man

I find it ironic --- and very sad --- that in his attempt to prevent one senator from being censured for violating "the Code of Conduct of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and for engaging in improper and unethical conduct that damaged the integrity of the Senate" Senator Nene Pimentel resorted to name-calling and making vulgar remarks about a colleague's wife. 


That in itself is conduct unbecoming of a senator. 


Pimentel should be censured.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

I will never ever vote for Mike Defensor, but please, Mr. Mayor, level the playing field!



Here's Councilor Vincent Belmonte's latest poster. It came up a few days ago in time for today's commemoration of the feast of the Black Nazarene. And in all places, his minions decide to post one right beside his uncle's, the mayor's, warning against political propaganda.

That's audacity for you. That's pure arrogance. And that's down right bullying.

All from the powerful Belmonte clan that includes 1) the incumbent mayor who is now running for his old congressional seat; 2) the mayor's daughter who is running for vice mayor and two nephews -- including Vincent -- who are running for re-election as councilors.

For while an obscure 1990 city ordinance that the mayor's office conveniently resurrected justifies the tearing down of their political opponents' materials, no government street cleaner would dare take down the posters and banners and greetings the Belmonte camp continue to post everywhere possible.

Shameless, indeed.



Paging Senators Aquino and Roxas. It's time you police your ranks. Not all so-called Liberals are worth voting for.