Ang Pabling: The Great Pinoy Lover - Learn the Secrets, Master the Moves and Live the Life

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Journal of the Jester-in-Exile has three entries in a row by way of analysis: Let the Numbers Speak, Part I: De Venecia to remain president in Lakas-Kampi merger. An offer the Palace has to refuse? Not really -more of a face-saving merger, but with a last-ditch effort to give FVR some wiggle room, too. The Lakas old guard in the Palace want JDV sacrificed to maintain closeness to the President; Ramos is trying to gain time to either convince JDV to pipe down or to hang himself, so that the party can salvage a little dignity before it turns into a fully-owned subsidiary of Kampi, Inc.

The palace was hoping that the galleries would be empty, the media absent, and public attention unfocused, so that it could minimize the risks if Speaker de Venecia, Jr. In his blog, a congressman, Ruffy Biazon, has an interesting account of the maneuvering behind the scenes. But it became clearer after the majority caucus held in Malacanang. It was a make-or- break caucus for JDV, where he was expecting probably more accurately, hoping that the president would step in and advise everyone to uphold the status quo. But then, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo intervened: On its face, it is a neutral act, but congressmen saw it as a withdrawal of support from JDV and a blessing to the initiative of her sons to oust the Speaker.

As it was, since no one really believes the palace or trusts it, everyone due to show up on Monday showed up on Monday. At first things looked like they were headed for business as usual until Rep. Abraham Mitra of Palawan, soon after the referral of bills, rose and threw down the gauntlet.

He moved that the speakership be declared vacant. Simeon Datumanong, who was presiding, suspended the session. At that point, two hours of furious caucus-holding and negotiations began. The two hours were spent basically hammering out two issues between the Nograles and the de Venecia camps. Furthermore, the palace wanted to deny de Venecia the opportunity to make a valedictory speech. Along the way, de Venecia clung to the hope he could, somehow, preserve his office and at one point, inquired with Rep. Jun Abaya, great grandson of Emilio Aguinaldo and member of the LP, had the decency to try to register his vote on the motion by nodding; but Rep.

At a certain point, about a half hour before he returned to the floor, de Venecia apparently knew his game was up and summoned his wife and son to his office. They returned to the gallery about ten minutes before the soon-to-be ex-speaker reappeared on the floor — there was an audible gasp from the galleries when he took his place by the rostrum.

All the while, Rep. Mitra had hovered by the microphone repeatedly asking that the session be resumed and his motion carried out. The Arroyo brothers at various time surveyed the scene with proprietary interest and from time to time, Mikey Arroyo would disappear. So when de Venecia returned, the question became, would he be permitted a swan song? Dilangalen, and the father of Chiz Escudero; in a nuanced and quite interesting ruling from the chair, Rep. Obviously, the palace was not inclined either to keep its word or do him any favors, yet the man thought that a pledge was a pledge.

In a nutshell, that is the great defect of truly traditional politicians — they believe that there are some lines no one will cross. After Manuel Villar, Jr. This time, de Venecia had to go, and hardly anyone sympathized with him. Now, he is on probation: People inclined to be neutral will be watching, as well. The signal sent by this move is that Kampi is now the real mover and shaker in the House. It hatched the plot to oust de Venecia, a party man and leader with stature equal to, at least, the president; it sustained that plot and accomplished it; in other words, it is the party that matters, and its gaining the greatest numbers is merely a matter of time.

As will be its deposing, in turn, Nograles the moment, say, the president decides that he has become a liability. For example, the enmity between Nograles, a third termer out of the House by anyway, and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is famous. Who will the president need more, in the coming years, if there are efforts to accomplish Charter Change? After Nograles delivers in the House, the effort will sink or swim depending on how local governments marshal their forces. At which point the president will need Duterte more than she needs Nograles.

And his being a member of Lakas-CMD will matter little by that time. Dato surveys his domain. Audience in the galleries 3. JDV perorates from the floor. My coverage of events from the Bastusan Pambansa was in the form of Twittering, you can see them here , and here , and here and here and here. The Palace was hoping that the galleries would be empty, the media absent, and public attention unfocused, so that it could minimize the risks if de Venecia decided to go down fighting. In his blog, Rep. A few days before the session resumed, both sides, the pro- and anti-JDV camps, conducted meetings one after the other.

Some congressmen gave commitments early while some attended meetings on both sides. Signatures on manifestos were gathered, and there are even reports of congressmen signing on manifestos from both sides. Both sides claimed they had the numbers and for a time, it was seen as a bluffing game. It was a make or break caucus for JDV, where he was expecting probably more accurately, hoping that the President would step in and advise everyone to uphold the status quo. On its face, it is a neutral act, but Congressmen saw it as a withdrawal of support from JDV and a blessing to the initiative of her sons to oust the Speaker.

After the adjournment of that caucus, word already spread out among congressmen about the position of the president and as expected, tides began to turn in favor of Cong. There, the numbers and warm bodies were finally seen. As it was, since no one really believes the Palace or trusts it, everyone due to show up on Monday showed up on Monday.

Datumanong, who was presiding, suspended the session. The Nograles, or Palace, camp wanted to deny de Venecia the opportunity to demand nominal voting where each and every congressman would have to rise and put their vote for or against the motion, on the record. Furthermore, the Palace wanted to deny de Venecia the opportunity to make a valedictory speech. They returned to the gallery about ten minutes before the soon to be ex-speaker reappeared on the floor -there was an audible gasp from the galleries when he took his place by the rostrum. As for the speech of de Venecia, the various press reports will suffice: See also Nograles is new House Speaker and Gonzalez: Obviously the Palace was not inclined either to keep its word or do him any favors, yet the man thought that a pledge was a pledge.

In a nutshell, that is the great defect of truly traditional politicians -they believe that there are some lines no one will cross. As an ordinary citizen, I am more interested with his expose. While it may be too late a hero to expose the Presidency and its allies in its alleged lapses and involvement in various controversies, I realized something good was coming out of it, after all—that is the unveiling of some hidden truths and burning issues that the Filipino nation must face. What will happen in the coming days is for us to see. As JDV said, it is just the start and the Filipino people would expect more in the coming days.

That is for us to hear and see. After some period of stabilization, we are again riding a political roller-coaster. Definitely, this move by JDV will turn tides. I just hope that many Filipinos would become more vigilant of those turncoat politicians who would take advantage of this situation, and that the people behind it would not resort to violence. I believed that the ouster move was not motivated by a desire for change and reform in the House. Issues about transparency in the House expenses were raised, but nobody ever really made a move to scrutinize them. During the budget deliberations, where the golden opportunity to ask questions about the House budget is there for everyone to take, no one grabbed it.

The Commission on Audit annual report on House expenses is always ready for anyone interested to go over and review. Some have said that the Speaker was responsible for the plummeting ratings and deplorable image of the House. But the House of Representatives is a collective body. The Speaker is said to be only the First Among Equals.

The image of the House is the responsibility not only of the Speaker but by all congressmen as individuals and the entire House as an institution. Even if we have a Speaker with impeccable character, if a majority of congressmen still abuse their power, act arrogantly in their distrcits, involve themselves in questionable deals and transactions and perform their duties poorly, the House will remain a house of ill repute.

It can be redeemed through extra spending in publicity and public relations, but those will never reform the House. I have due respect and admiration for him as a colleague, but Cong.

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As the current head of the House contingent on the Commission on Appointments during this Congress, he is often not in the House, understandably because of his duties as head of the contingent. For the past months of the 14th Congress, he was concentrated on his duty instead of campaigning for change and reform in the House. It had to take someone else with more clout and resources to organize and convince the congressmen to support him.

The House of Representatives elected three Speakers last night: And as I mentioned in my column, yesterday, the signal sent by this move is that Kampi is now the real mover and shaker in the House. It hatched the plot to oust de Venecia, a party man and leader with stature equal to, at least, the President; it sustained that plot and accomplished it; in other words, it is the party that matters, and its gaining the greatest numbers is merely a matter of time. As will be its deposing, in turn, Nograles the moment, say, the President decides that he has become a liability.

For example, the enmity between Nograles, a third termer out of the House by anyway, and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is famous. Who will the President need more, in the coming years, if there are efforts to accomplish Charter Change? At which point the President will need Duterte more than she needs Nograles. I received this text message, today, which for now will have to be in the caveat emptor, scuttlebutt department:. Per Palace insider, Lakas convention set this week has been deferred to another date. Press con for FVR being arranged. JPE is coy to be Senate Pres.

JDV chopping is a 3-pronged plan: Ermita is also in chopping board. Bunye asked to be moved to Monetary Board. There will be easy ways to refute or prove this and previous scuttlebutt, much of which has ended up being verified publicly by the Palace, anyway. The EQualizer , on the other hand, makes some bold predictions. Mon Casiple , in his blog, offers up this reflection:. The fuse was lit by de Venecia and the clock is ticking.

In a situation of negative presidential popularity, this is an explosive situation. The possible scenarios basically are open-ended. They certainly include a shortened GMA term or a possible desperate declaration of an emergency situation. It may cost all of them their heads. Talk is rife, however, that it might push through anyway, but without media coverage.

Matias Defensor says the ruling coalition prefers a secret caucus in committee rooms, where congressmen will indicate where they stand should there be a division of the House; and that when the winner is known, they will then return to the Session Hall to formalize their choice, without having to engage in debate. Quite a high-wire act. Until this morning, the deposing of the Speaker had an aura of inevitability not to mention, invincibility. A delay of 24 hours can give the de Venecia camp a second wind. Conversely, it can give the Palace more time to consolidate its forces.

Defensor says, though, that their objective is to settle the leadership question by tomorrow at the latest. The primary consideration see below might actually be: Sergio Apostol says the Palace is dangling appointment as ambassador to Washington or Secretary of Foreign Affairs to de Venecia confirming previous scuttlebutt. Over the weekend, there was posturing a-plenty: De Venecia, Nograles camps both say they have the votes.

He reportedly consulted former President Estrada who summoned an opposition meeting Sunday lunchtime. But that was worth a handful of votes at best. On the other hand, the leading Palace candidate for the speakership, Rep. The President, for her part, played alternately coy and helpless: Besides what the editorial pointed out, Mon Casiple in his blog entry Between two families traces the sore spots between the Speaker and the President:.

In the process, FVR got elbowed out and was humiliated at the Lakas coalition showdown. Things got into a head in the last elections. The JDV camp found itself fighting for survival—not for speakership—but even for membership in the House. JDV won the fight with FVR support and later defended his speakership by invoking the continuity of the limping coalition. However, by that time, the trust between the coalition partners had all but disappeared. However, one source, quoting a conversation with Dato Arroyo on Saturday, said of the so-called snub,.

Napapirma raw nya rachel arenas ysday. And so, instead of a Sunday meeting, the Speaker was told he should go to the Palace on Monday, either at 10 or 11 am. The Monday meeting, held at the Palace Park , was expected to take all morning. Casiple also said that the escalating fight between de Venecia and Arroyo carries with it the risk of tearing apart the ruling coalition. This is something I tackle in my column, Aliens versus Predators.

News like this — Eastern Samar Gov. Evardone quits Lakas party — is a sign of things to come:. Lakas has to consider if it will keep an increasingly decorative speakership. As for de Venecia himself, C onrado de Quiros zeroes in on the problem: The Speaker made a choice in July , gambling on achieving parliamentary government by giving the President a chance to survive. FVR gambled on the same thing.

The President eliminated FVR as a power in Lakas and then proceeded to cultivate the Speaker to kill impeachment efforts. The President rewarded them by using the resources of her office to try to kill Lakas. Leadership requires numbers but it also requires showing true grit; this is how politicians become statesmen. The Speaker has had repeated opportunities to finally choose the path of statesmanship but chose the low road each and every time.

In the blogosphere, The Lonely Vampire Chronicles compiles relevant headlines; smoke has a bone to pick with the opposition concerning the speakership fight; and Uniffors advises congressmen to take the money -and squeal. The Equalizer points to Rep. B rain Cell Exercises puts it well:. This recent skirmish in the House of Representatives only goes to show several things: Second, that there are no permanent allies in politics — only permanent interests.

I believe that Nograles and his allies do have the numbers to finally topple JDV. Pinoy x-sa KSA points out,. If you are a father, you know very well that you cannot control your sons and daughters. More likely scenario is a face-saving but politically non-threatening ambassadorship for Ermita. Winston Garcia said to be slated to be the next Chairman of the Commission on Audit. President backed off if JDV3 backs off; leaks about this apparently sourced from the Ermita and Bunye camps in the Palace.

The President is said to have to intimated that the time has come to put in place the system that ought to have been instituted in the Marcos years: Corruption concerns block more US aid to Philippines. The transcript of the press briefing is available online at the US Department of Sate website. Here are the relevant portions on the Philippines:. My question is — I was reading this report — the Philippines is still under a threshold program. We have an excellent threshold program with the Philippines. We want to see further results. I had the pleasure of meeting with President Arroyo and her cabinet in New York in September to discuss the ongoing —.

At the United Nations General Assembly when she was there for those meetings.

by John Pages

We met for about half an hour and discussed the MCC threshold program and the continuing efforts of her government to perform well on the indicators. We will be meeting the delegation from the Philippine Government next week here in Washington. He and his team and the MCC team will meet together to discuss further continuation of the program. And we hope eventually that the compact eligibility will continue and that they will be rewarded a compact in due course. Bing Branigan from Manila Mail newspaper. When exactly next week Philippine Finance Secretary Teves is coming?

Secretary Teves — I think the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. We discussed this with President Arroyo and with her ministers when we were together in New York in September. And although the Philippines technically is eligible for a compact, there has been in the last assessment, indicator assessment some serious declines with regards to corruption and some other matters with their performance on the indicators. This causes us some concern because the drop in performance in fact was very dramatic. And we want to understand more clearly why that dramatic drop has occurred, understand what circumstances caused that to happen, so we can have some clarity as to whether or not this precipitous drop is going to continue or if there was some indicator irregularity or if there are further strong reforms which the Philippine Government needs to take in this regard to make sure that at the next period of assessment this summer, the indicator shows an upward trend.

The drop was from the 70th percentile down to the 50th percentile. So it was fairly significant. Even though they were still above the median. So that is, in fact, the very reason for the meetings next week. We are going forward. Ambassador, inaudible corruption inaudible is this part of it? Yesterday, the buzz in political circles mainly concerned whether the Speaker of the House would still be Jose de Venecia, Jr.

Kampi, Arroyo sons vote to oust De Venecia. The message was, JDV urged to step down to save face but of course, Bluffing on numbers is House game. Everyone got in on the act: In the end, it became a question of who could shout they had the Mandate of Heaven: The problem with that proposal was that it was too insulting to be accepted by de Venecia -from No. In the end, the President apparently told her sons to back off on condition the Speaker did the same thing with his son: De Venecia buys time: She said that the unwritten story picked up, as far as I can see, only by the Business Mirror where she writes a column is how Congress has spent two years coming to grips with the budget process and allowing greater participation by the citizenry in its formulation.

She said that Rep. Edcel Lagman in the House and Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano went above and beyond the call of duty in bringing the public into the budgeting process. In that manner, they were in synch with the legislators who discovered that the public was willing to follow their process, and had done their homework. The problem now is that the President has taken a dim view when it comes to some of these realignments and has apparently threatened a veto.

She also argued that the power of the president to veto is a limited one, subject to stringent criteria, but personally I tend to disagree with that assertion, in the past, anyway, presidential vetoes have been based on constitutionality and legality questions but also in the basis of presidential policy. I asked for her views on the proposed stimulus package. She replied that the institutional stimulus package is the national budget and for that reason, she opposed a special stimulus package. A national budget mandates spending, she said, and not only that, because it specifies what is to be spent where, it assists transparency in the spending of public monies.

She also pointed out that the stimulus package and the national budget will be competing for the same resources: This seems to have been addressed: Stimulus plan sourced from budget. Also, she said greater public scrutiny is required, whether of existing budgetary items or proposed stimulus programs. A case in point is the proposed 6 billion peso feeding program for school kids. She said that government policy at present is hand sacks of rice to kids, which leads to a whole set of problems: The point being that enough research and practical experience exists, she says, to prove that effective feeding programs for kids involve feeding kids in school, during class hours.

You will see on the chart above, which comes from a presentation of Dr. I asked him what that meant. He said, it represents a change made in the manner GDP is computed, which makes all previous data and all subsequent data not precisely comparable to each other. Blogging , constitution , economy , House of Representatives , ideas , liveblogging , philippines , politics , president , Senate , society. I hope their petition prospers: Manila poor seek end to anti-birth control policy. In the House, Solon hits plan to allow mining firms to have militias.

Meanwhile, Congress rushes aviation authority approval. My column for today is Surprise! Senate issues arrest orders; Lozada flies to London see also Neri, Lozada keep affidavits for safety: Testimony of 2 execs also put on videotape. The column makes reference to a couple of articles in Newsweek , first The U.

Economy Faces the Guillotine and Goodbye to the Bulls? Fifteen key economists, policymakers and strategists weigh in on a week of volatility and economic turmoil. Its a big injection of political steroids. He reminds her of the costs of electioneering because he thinks the Salceda stimulus package is simply a bad, irresponsible, idea:.

This package involves giving out tax and electricity discounts, among other measures. This package, according to a statement coming out of the Palace, will cost about P75 billion. But the magnitude proposed implies that we will not meet our promised balanced budget target this year. As things stand, there is enough anxiety about the fact that the major items of privatization will run out this year. After that, we might not be able to meet our revenue targets due to slow progress in tax collection efficiency. If we give out tax discounts, the whole edifice of fiscal discipline could collapse on our heads.

We have already reduced tariff on imported oil to appease the populist mob. Some politicians, enslaved by their ambitions, have begun talking about taking the VAT out of fuel products. The opportunistic leftist groups are calling for fuel to be subsidized. That will produce a huge deficit that will cause everything else to go awry: The net result will be an economy in chaos, with unemployment and poverty rising instead of falling.

Investments will slow down, stagnation will set in. We will all end up more miserable that ever. Before the elections, government decided to under-price electricity rates. That did not make consumers happy but it kept them from becoming too angry. The Napocor, however, was left holding the bag. It took large losses that required large borrowings. Our utilities are now profitable. As such, it is easier to push forward privatization.

There is enough spending involved in the infrastructure program to provide counter-cyclical relief. Anything beyond that requires some hard thinking that looks long into the future. The irresponsibility of past governments was that, due to political expediency, they spent garrulously and borrowed heavily, putting future generations in hock. They condemned us to a debt crisis that hobbled our ability to grow. The fact is, middle-class families have exhausted the coping mechanisms they have used for more than three decades to get by on median wages that are barely higher than they were in , adjusted for inflation.

Male wages today are in fact lower than they were then: Middle-class lifestyles have flourished even though median wages have barely budged. That is ending and Americans are beginning to feel the consequences. The first coping mechanism was moving more women into paid work. Some parents are now even doing hour shifts, one on child duty while the other works. These families are known as Dins: But we reached the limit to how many mothers could maintain paying jobs.

We turned to a second coping mechanism. When families could not paddle any harder, they started paddling longer. The typical American now works two weeks more each year than 30 years ago. Compared with any other advanced nation we are veritable workaholics, putting in more hours a year than the average European, more even than the notoriously industrious Japanese.

But there is also a limit to how long we can work. As the tide of economic necessity continued to rise, we turned to the third coping mechanism. We began to borrow, big time. With housing prices rising briskly through the s and even faster between and , we turned our homes into piggy banks through home equity loans. That is nearly 10 per cent of disposable income. With credit cards raining down like manna, we bought plasma tele vision sets, new appliances, vacations. With dollars artificially high because foreigners continued to hold them even as the nation sank deeper into debt, we summoned inexpensive goods and services from the rest of the world.

But this final coping mechanism can no longer keep us going, either. The era of easy money is over. With the bursting of the housing bubble, home equity is drying up. Car and credit card debt is next. Personal bankruptcies rose 48 per cent in first half of , probably even more in the second half, which means a wave of defaults on consumer loans.

Meanwhile, as foreigners begin shifting out of dollars, we will no longer have access to cheap foreign goods and services. In short, the anxiety gripping the middle class is not simply a product of the current economic slowdown. The underlying problem began around On January 21st share prices plunged from Brazil to Britain in the worst day of trading since September 11th Before Wall Street opened on January 22nd the Federal Reserve announced an unscheduled rate cut of three-quarters of a percentage point, to 3.

As the markets pitch and yaw the pressing question is whether central bankers and regulators have acted with swift prudence, or ill-judged panic…. First, that policymakers, led by the Fed, would avert recession in the United States. And third, that the credit mess would be confined to areas related to subprime mortgages. These assumptions were always over-optimistic.

The labour market is weakening at a pace that has in the past heralded recession. The rest of the world, meanwhile, is slowing. Japan is weak; even turbo-charged China may cool. And the credit crisis has continued to spread. Corporate lending and parts of consumer credit, such as credit cards and car loans, are wobbly. They would have hurt states and municipalities that are their biggest customers; and banks that had bought insurance in credit-derivative trades would also have been hit. A further round of losses at the banks could have been catastrophic.

With the system at risk, no wonder stockmarkets swooned….

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Many have plenty of reserves and flexible exchange rates, making a rerun of the crises unlikely. Many are growing nicely on the back of rising domestic demand and regional trade links. And many have strong budget positions, leaving room for fiscal loosening to offset weakening exports. Taken together, the signs from the world economy are troubling. The credit binge will not unwind quickly or gently.

Asset prices will fall. But central bankers and regulators have the tools to stop a downturn from becoming a slump, so long as they use them sensibly. Reacting to market panic with panicky rate cuts is likely to make things worse rather than better. The Fed should always be the calm centre of a financial storm.

Just the other night, a friend working for a multinational company focused on the parts-sourcing industry has begun to talk quietly so as not to spook staff of a slow but measurable decrease in ad placements. This situation came to mind upon reading this Economist article, Hard sell: Ad-spending usually plunges when economic growth slows. Will it be any different this time? Similar thoughts were expressed by some people from an outsourcing company I talked to last Saturday, who briefly described the various scenarios their bosses are playing out, to see if an economic slowdown will have serious effects on the whole company, or its various parts, only.

Its slide is ushering in a new economic era:. Clearly, times have changed. Back then, a euro was worth 86 cents. More telling is that the U. The shift will of course have major ramifications. Countries are beginning to de-link their currencies from the dollar, as inflationary pressures make it difficult to implement effective local monetary policy. Large global creditors like the Chinese have announced their intent to scale back on dollar reserves. It will take years for the euro to become a real rival; the renminbi will rise over decades.

Because while all point to a San Antonio-Miami ending, he chooses Oklahoma. Look what happened in the last game. Westbrook made only seven points but he made all the difference. If they lose, Oklahoma will finish it in Game 6. Same with Miami tomorrow. The pressure is intense. Alby Benitez, is to produce world-class badminton athletes for the London Olympics which we did not qualify yet and other future international tournaments.

He was tasked to go around the country to scout for young potentials to be trained in Manila together with the National Players. So, parents, watch out for the dates when Rexy will visit your province! Whoever lands in the top 3 will be trained and will represent the Philippines for all international tournaments. If anyone wishes to get updates on the rankings for all levels, please visit my office for a free Phil.

We are on the 20th issue this month! The local venue is at the old San Nicolas Gymnasium which is located in Pasil, San Nicolas for those who are interested to be trained for free. You do not play Badminton to be fit. You have to be fit to play Badminton! Few people love basketball as much as Chester Cokaliong.

And more so, this ? Chester predicts that, granted that both San Antonio and Miami meet in the Finals, it will be a score for the Spurs without Bosh; with him, it will go to Game 7 with the win for SA. They even narrowly escaped Indiana. Last February 20 was a special day for Chester. It was his birthday. How did they celebrate this twin milestone? Before that, we spent several nights on a Bahamas Cruise and arrived in Miami. Lakers went on to win it after an excellent first quarter.

The next day, we flew back to Cebu.

Manuel L. Quezon III

Years back, he saw the Lakers play the Phoenix Suns. But that was at the old Forum stadium. We wanted to buy. They all ran out. They have this huge sports center inside the Staples Center selling Lakers and Clippers apparel. They have smaller stalls exclusive per team. You can even get made-to-order jerseys and pick them up the in the next game. But they were all sold out.

Chester mentioned the need for Cebu to have a new stadium. But we need a new one. Combining his basketball passion and his business acumen, maybe Chester can spearhead the building of this new Megadome? You cannot even pay the bank. Chester is known as the best 3-point shooter of our island. Remember him winning those three-point contests wearing an NBA jacket?

The present crop is not very good. Look at Ray Allen. In the regular season, he shot 92 percent. Wakee Salud took my phone call yesterday. Like we do in almost every Manny Pacquiao fight, I call him two weeks prior to fight night. Then, Wakee invited him to Lapu-Lapu City for a promotion. The year-old Californian is undefeated in 28 fights. Not that Bradley is a patsy. Though he handily defeated Shane Mosley, the verdict on his showing was poor. Unlike the Manny of old who would destroy and annihilate, he was hesitant and unsure. The same with their Trilogy versus Juan Manuel Marquez.

We thought Manny lost. Lahi gyud ang karaan na Manny, we all agreed. He kept on going back to Manila. Also, sakto gyud sa practice and training. Finally, the last and most essential P: He keeps on reading the Bible. Everyday, he would have Bible studies. When I asked Wakee if his buddy invited him to join their Bible-reading sessions, he let out a long and hearty laugh. Manny has already agreed to all his demands. The only problem is the money, the sharing. For me, the best solution is Winner gets 60 percent; loser, 40 percent. Is there a place more cosmopolitan, diverse and sports-crazy?

Exactly 64 days from today, London will become the only city in history to host the Olympics thrice they also did in and Wanting to get a first-hand look at the Olympics, I asked a long-time resident for his thoughts…. A giant both in size and in his love for sports, Jack has resided in London for 11 years now.

Only the West part of London where the Olympic Village and the infrastructures are. Shall we get the stadium after the Olympics or shall we remain in the congested White Heart Lane stadium. The London Olympics organising committee has given the rights to West Ham because of the Hammers proposal to keep the track oval after the games. The Hammers have all the advantage also because West Ham is based only very near to the stadium while the Spurs are based some kilometres away. The Spurs management has brought all the properties around their stadium and are waiting for their permit to construct to be approved.

The Spurs stadium has only 36, capacity and I have been waiting for the past 11 years to get a season ticket.

They are planning to extend the stadium to 60, once the council approves the permit. The games have not even started yet but the battle in courts have already been busy. Jack planned to watch the games in person but was appalled by the exorbitant ticket prices. I also have to pay high rental to the flat I rent here. Based on my internet research, a ticket to, say, an Olympic basketball game can cost anywhere from 40 Pounds about P2, to, in the Final game, a whopping Pounds P29, The final can be as expensive as pounds P15, This has not stopped Jack, though, from visiting a few sites.

The London Games will be the 30th Olympics. And since Roman Numerals are often used, you know what these games will be? When the battle starts on July 27, an estimated 10,plus athletes representing countries will compete. There are only 26 sports but a total of events. But the Filipino community is excited to watch Olympic basketball games live this time because there is a British team competing in it.

Unlike the previous games where only the finals were aired. That, if I stay healthy during those times. I am getting old now John and I want to enjoy my life a little bit before I go to another world. Life here is hard and there is too much stress. I had a great time in Cebu when I was there. I lost my hair and gotten sick of diabetes in 11 years of stay here.

Finally, I asked the football aficionado if he meets with other Cebuanos. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James combined for 70 points yesterday. After Miami Heat lost their last two games against the Indiana Pacers, it was time to panic. He pulled down 18 rebounds, dished-out 9 assists and scored He had 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 30 points.

Game 4 was the most crucial game this year for Miami. LeBron and Wade, minus Chris Bosh, prevailed. In the other Eastern side, expect Boston to prevail and meet Miami. San Antonio has humiliated the LA Clippers, Had Kobe escaped to tie it for 2-all, it would be a toss-up. Now, the Lakers are down Gio started golf at the age of four. By the age of seven, he joined tournaments. But, by age 11, he focused on the game of his favorite player, Rory McIlroy. Of course, golf is fun for me, playing tournament golf and just playing around with friends makes me love the game so much.

What made him sweep all these giant events this summer? His decision to skip joining tournaments last November and December so he can focus fixing his swing. As to the added pressure of winning, Gio shrugs that off. It made me realize my potential. Gio will leave for the U. Then, by September, he returns to America for his much-awaited college scholarship in Santa Clara University.

One of the most anticipated of tennis tournaments started yesterday at the Cebu International Tennis Centre, Inc. Mayor Teresa Alegado graced the opening. A total of entries, many players coming from areas not in Cebu, are joining this five-day-long event which offers 9 age-group categories from and-under to and-under. Thanks to the Gullas brothers, Dodong and Eddie, both tennis players, this event has thrived and continued after 17 years. She played four opponents at the Ecoland Tennis Courts. The first two were easy wins but the last two were hard-fought. In the semis, she played 5-foot-6 Cotabato City-based Ivana Caballero.

Santos City, , We stayed at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in downtown Davao. Apart from the central location, what I liked best was being meters away from an exercise haven: They have a meter oval where hundreds run. The surface is not rubberized, asphalt or anapog—but rectangular-shaped cement bricks. Sure, the bricks look good in red and gray but the uneven surface is scary.

Still, what an ideal site for exercisers. Though much smaller, it reminds me of Victoria Park in Hong Kong. Our very own Plaza Independencia would be a fitting comparison. The largest venue for indoor sports here is Almendras Gym. While riding a taxicab, the driver mentioned that over a decade ago, Davao City built a P million, 15,seater Artica Dome—only for the nearly-finished project to be mothballed because of politics. It reminds me of our own Megadome. Had that project of then Gov. Pabling Garcia materialized, imagine the positive impact for sports?

All these contrast with the brand-new Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. In our few days stay in Davao, you know what we applaud the most? We rode about a dozen times and, each time with no miss, the drivers were courteous, helpful and knowledgeable. They were impromptu tourist guides. They gave suggestions on where to go sightseeing? We made sure to include quick visits to Eden Nature Park and the Phil. Eagle Park—both must-see places. I wish Cebu had a similar Eden: A little farther from where all the eagles were located was a spot with monkeys.

This represents Manny Pacquiao. Before, he was a king monkey; now, this Bible-loving man is a Philippine eagle. Jana and I even held by hand a three-foot-long crocodile! Booths were filled with various exhibits: Moments after the winning putt, Eric Deen is congratulated by Montito Garcia. Whenever I need help with golf, I turn to two friends who are not only Class-A golfers but also skillful writers: Marko Sarmiento and Atty. No one was surprised since the two have been playing well all year. For the first time, the top two seeds lost.

I was also fortunate to beat the 2 seed Gio even though I was Jovi and I both struggled in qualifying, but the beauty of match play is anything can happen. Jovi credits the depth of talent in his club where, on any sunny day, anyone can beat anyone. In the quarterfinals, Jovi and Marko lost. Kiyo then lost to Eric in the semifinals and Gen lost to Mon.

Leading to the finals you play 5 out 7 days. Under the summer heat, it gets exhausting. The level of play goes down because of fatigue and in match play you match up directly against your opponent. If your opponent double bogeys, all you have to do is bogey. On the 2nd 18, fatigue was getting the better of them. Pars and bogeys were winning holes. Eric built a 2 up lead with 2 holes to go. Both hit perfect drives and good second shots.

Mon left himself a footer for birdie while Eric had a 7-footer. Mon putted first and barely missed but Eric made no mistake and birdied to win! Pretty amazing considering the number of birdies that were made leading up to the final. His gross score was good enough to beat the net scores of everyone! Two days ago, he was inside another dome.

They watched the L. Clippers battle the Memphis Grizzlies. Even before getting to Staples Center, just looking for a parking spot, you feel the craziness in the streets. They also gave everyone free red Clippers shirts. I remember watching several with Chris Aldeguer. Blake Griffin amazed Harry the most. It seems EVERY time Blake gets the ball on the run, the crowd is on its feet gasping for that big dunk which never fails to energize the whole stadium.

His pure vertical leaps get the crowd going. Although for him to have a good career, he needs to develop more post-up moves and a consistent mid-range jumper. Playoff tickets are difficult to secure. As they sat down, Harry laughed, saying: What surprised Harry the most was how the Clippers fans hate the Lakers fans, and vice versa. Harry has seen Michael Jordan play. One future legend that he wants to watch this month: Kevin Durant looks like the prototype for the future of NBA players: Two explosive teams hungry for the championship.

Although Miami might have the edge in defense. He makes everyone around him better. Probably the closest to Pete Maravich. He just shows up to simply play. He toiled so hard at the end of the bench hopping from one team to another just waiting for that one chance. The weird thing about them? Back to Cebu, the councilor added: What a super experience!

Our group of 25 arrived in Brgy. Tan-awan, Oslob past 6 A. We each paid P and listened to a short briefing. After awaiting our turn, we boarded three bancas that transported us about meters from the shoreline. With our masks, snorkels and life-vests on, we jumped. The water was 30 to 40 feet deep. Within a few minutes, we sighted a giant creature gliding. It coasted like a Boeing For nearly 10 minutes, with the current strong, we waited.

Oh no, we thought. Maybe that was it. But then, Jourdan Polotan shouted. It floated and slithered. Its heavy body swayed. All our scary eyes sat frozen and transfixed. In our 30 minutes on water, we saw three or four whale sharks. Once, I was so near touching one maybe two meters away until a boatman called for me to stay farther. At another time, my mom Allen was aboard the small banca when another whale shark emerged.

I shouted for her dive and look. And be there early: Visit on a weekday. We camped in Bojloon on Sunday and, early Monday, we traversed to Oslob. Sure, hundreds of people still lined up… but not thousands. Mondays to Thursdays are best. Go with friends and family. Our group from the BCBP included: Stay at Granda Resort. Yes, this is an endorsement: The breathtaking property sits at the corner of a cove and the famous Baluarte tower resides within their property.

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