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Typhoon Frank Victims: Children of San Fernando, Sibuyan Island

Greed led the owner of the MV Princess of the Stars to allow it to proceed on its final journey despite Typhoon Frank warnings. This is the same corporation which owned the even more ill-fated Dona Paz, a ship whose loss on December 20, 1987 killed nearly three times as many as the famous Titanic.

The manner by which Sulpicio Lines handled the terrible tragedy is most deplorable. However, there is yet another tragedy that has not been written about much, which has befallen the town of San Fernando in Sibuyan Island. San Fernando is the town closest to where the sunken ship lies.

This quaint fishing town of some 22,000 residents is also struggling against an equally daunting devastation away from media glare that is focused on the capsized MV Princess of the Stars just a few kilometers from the shore. Majority of the families have lost their homes and been displaced. There is hardly food and shelter available. The children are in dire straits. They have lost all their books, toys, clothing and are very much in need of basic necessities. Government agencies, owing to a lack of resources, just cannot be depended on to address all the tragedy surrounding us today. In today’s Philippine Inquirer report, Dr. Ted Esguerra of the Philippine Coast Guard mentioned that attention should be given to the children of this island.

As private citizens, and as human beings, we can do our part. My friend, Cathy Babao-Guballa is initiating a campaign to help the Children of San Fernando, Sibuyan Island.

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Typhoon Frank Aftermath Photos in Metro Manila

It was 5:00 AM when Lauren knocked on our room . The loud noise outside her window woke her up almost the same time as the brownout hit our home. “Don’t worry the MERALCO wires have a ground wire now” I told her to sleep with us if she was still scared with the noise. Thinking it was just the rattling roof in our neighbor’s house, I didn’t think much of it. It was still too dark to investigate.

At around 9:00 AM, we discovered the remnants of a roof lying a few meters away from our house , narrowly missing my daughters’  bedroom window. The roof came from the fourth floor of this ongoing construction across our home then , probably flew off and landed right smack along some cables and electric wires in the house beside us. No wonder we have no Globelines broadband and Skycable connection.

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Danvil Plans, Crown Regency Hotel, NuSkin, Cellphone Raffle Fraud, Scams

For those searching about Danvil Plans, my post on this is in the middle. Read also the comments section to know more about Danvil Plans Scam or How to Cancel your Danvil Plans Policy.

What is it with freebies or raffle prizes? Sure, a freebie or raffle prize is exciting to receive if there are no strings attached or pressure to buy another product or service. Scammers or near-scammers use this time tested innovative marketing strategy to get what they want: MONEY.

This morning, I received the following text message from +639266957989

Globe 3g congrats for winning a Nokia N95 in our network to claim ur prize pls call toll free #09266957989 per dti ncr permit, #2838 series of 2008. God Bless.

I am sure a lot of you receive this type of text message but what caught my attention was no prize money was mentioned. Just a Nokia N95. It piqued my curiosity so much that I wanted to know their modus operandi. I called the number:

Man: Hello, Globe 3g.

(Hmm, the con man is trying to sound official and important)

Me: Hello, I called because I received a text message that I won a Nokia N95. Is this true?

Man: (who sounded defensive) If you see in the text message, there is a (Department of Trade Inc) DTI permit. You won 200,000 pesos and a free Nokia N95. Didn’t you see your cellphone number flashed in ABS-CBN show last night? (All this time, I just listened to his defensive explanation because I was raring to get information on their scam strategy).

Me: Talaga? I didn’t watch TV last night. Paano ko makuha yung nanalo kong Nokia N95? (How will I get my free Nokia N95?)

Man: To get your prize, you need to submit requirements before 10:30 AM

Me: So what are the requirements?

His response shocked my virgin ears.

Read More »Danvil Plans, Crown Regency Hotel, NuSkin, Cellphone Raffle Fraud, Scams

On Wire theft, Globelines Contractor and MERALCO Woes

It started at 12:30 Sunday morning when Butch and I woke up to darkness with the airconditioner turned off. Oh no a brownout! Peering down our bay window, I discovered that the rest of our neighborhood had lights in their homes. Maybe our circuit breaker tripped. No worries. I turned the main switch off then on. Nothing. No lights. Time to call MERALCO call center (16211) to rule out a problem with their power supply to our house. They arrived within an hour.

The MERALCO service guy removed our electric meter and showed us the smoking main line leading to our house. I didn’t need to see it. I could smell burnt rubber. They said they could do nothing about it since the problem is inside the house. To prove his point, he showed us the electric current coming from their line which was running fine. Great. Something is short-circuiting our main line. Luckily, we were able to sleep despite having no whirring electric fan to cool us.

Fortunately, our electrician arrived early the next day. He found the source of the short-circuit problem which was the main line leading from the electric meter to the wires just before the circuit breaker. That shouldn’t be a problem. We can replace it easily. Still puzzled, I could not figure out what would cause our main line to burn. Just then, a neighbor passed by “You have an electricity problem too?”

Read More »On Wire theft, Globelines Contractor and MERALCO Woes

World Environment Day: Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy

Rina Bernabe of the Renewable Energy Coalition, ( a multi-sectoral alliance of civil society groups and industry players working for the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill in Congress) sent me an email if I could write about Renewal Energy in my blog. If she didn’t email me, I wouldn’t have known that tomorrow (June 5) is World Environment Day with the theme “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.”

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Review of Globelines, Smart Bro, Smart 3g and PLDT MyDSL Internet Services

It’s been a year and 2 months since I subscribed to three (3) Philippine Internet Service Provider (ISP) namely, Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles, Smart Bro and PLDT MyDSL. At the time of installation, I believed it was not yet time to make a review. Give it a year, I said to myself. What do you know? I survived to tell you about these 3 ISP’s. As a netrepreneur, my business relies on fast and reliable internet connection. I am sure other parents out there will be interested to know my experiences with these ISPs.

Let me add a fourth ISP, the Smart 3g which I use specifically for my macbook.

Take note, I am a paying subscriber located in Pasig City near the Quezon City area. I added speed test results (using speedtest.net) to show how most of our ISPs never deliver the promised speeds. I start being a “reklamador’ and then call support if speed falls below 50% after all it is my right to get the services I paid for.

Read More »Review of Globelines, Smart Bro, Smart 3g and PLDT MyDSL Internet Services

The Cebu Rectal Surgery Scandal, Not a Laughing Matter

My daughter used to tell me that I am so boring. I don’t take risks. I am not adventurous. Have some fun, Mom. Loosen a bit. Enjoy Life. Laugh more. This conversation happened four years ago. I didn’t know any better then. Our children teach us so many valuable insights, right?

Right, this is life. This is not a funeral service. Have some fun in it. Participate. Experiment. Take a risk. Be spontaneous. I shouldn’t be too concerned about doing it right or doing the appropriate thing. I laugh a lot now. I love jokes. I laugh at the witty articles written by the Man blog. I snicker at my husband’s corny jokes.

But wait. There are boundaries to laughter and having fun.

Read More »The Cebu Rectal Surgery Scandal, Not a Laughing Matter

National Women’s Day Celebration

national women's day celebration

Happy International Women’s Day! Women all over the world find the time to honor this day. For the women of the world, the Day’s symbolism has a wider meaning: It is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.

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a mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement in issues on family & society.
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