Salamat Marcial Bonifacio

Marcial definitely because of Martial Law.  Bonifacio, can either be because of Andres Bonifacio, the Philippine revolutionary hero.  Or, from Fort Bonifacio, where he was imprisoned in a 20sq m cell for treason.

The year was 1983.  The Philippine government would not issue him a passport.  So he had to use an alias, "Marcial Bonifacio" on his flight from the US back to Manila on that fateful day, August 21.  This year, we commemorate the 21st anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, an event that forever changed Philippine history.

Thank you Marcial Bonifacio.  Salamat Ninoy.

Quotes from Ninoy Aquino:

I will never be able to forgive myself if I will have to live with the knowledge that I could have done something and I did not do anything.

 

The Filipino is worth dying for.

What can one man do if the Filipino people love their slavery, if the Filipino people have lost their voice and would not say no to a tyrant, what can one man do. I have not army, I have no following, I have no money, and I only have my indomitable spirit.

I believe that the Filipino will respond to the call to greatness not by coercion but by persuasion, not by intimidation but through the ways of freedom.


I do not hold the key to our liberation, I do not know all the solutions to our many problem all I know is that if the situation continues in the Philippines, then blood will flow, and when blood flows, there will be no victor and there will be no vanquished because all of us will be victim of our folly

First we must return the freedom so that all segments of our community whether from left or from the right will have the right to speak and then in that open debate in that clash of debate in the marketplace we will produce the clash between the thesis and the anti-thesis and then we will have synthesis for the Filipino people.

We should not depend on one man; we should depend on all of us.

We must not only preserve yesterday's heritage fight for today's ephemeral interests, but die if need be, for tomorrow's hopes.

A time comes in a man's life when he must prefer a meaningful death to a meaningless life.

Top In demand courses in the Philippines

If you know a nursing graduate in the Philippines in the last 3-4 years, you probably heard their stories.  Unemployed, underemployed or paying an exorbitant amount to hospitals just so they can work as interns performing the job of a nurse.  Really sad.  Not long ago, nurses are in demand in the Philippines and especially abroad.  Interesting how things have changed drastically.

I had the opportunity to speak with University Deans and Placement Officers last week.  I learned that nursing classes have significantly shrunk.  4 years ago, one big University had 35 nursing sections.  This year they have 4.  And the story is very similar with other universities.  According to them nursing as a course and as a global career is cyclical in nature.  I guess we have to wait for the next cycle.

According to the university officials, the most popular courses in universities are:

1) HRM
2) PT, OT, Medical-related courses
3) Education
4) Business Administration
5) Engineering
6) IT Related courses

I am not surprised to see HRM as the most popular course.  But I wonder if it is the most popular course that companies look for.  I also know of several unemployed and underemployed HRM graduates out there.

Biggest surprise is Education.  I am happy to know that Education is becoming a preferred course for students. According to the University Leads, teachers are becoming in demand abroad, especially in big countries like Australia and Canada.  Not sure if this global demand is sustainable though.  Very concerned that this may suffer the same consequences  as nursing.

Another surprise is that IT-related courses are still not that popular among students.  Considering the Philippine IT industry is raising the white flag that they need more resources.  So there seems to be a huge gap between what the companies and industries want and the top courses in schools.
 

Pinoy Products in the US

I was in the US West Coast last month, and was delighted to see a strong Pinoy community.  We were in Vallejo, so already had an inkling that Pinoys abound there.  It was validated when we went downtown Vallejo and saw the signs ourselves.

Max's Fried Chicken Meal for $14.99

Chowking was also there.

Not surprised to see their famous Halo-Halo, costing 4bucks.

Sister company Red Ribbon was also there.  With their cakes priced like a US-cake, but of course

And of course, the Bee has to be there.

The menu looks the same as that of Manila's with the glaring exception of this Chickenjoy Popcorn, available outside the Philippines.   And by the way the Jollibee gravy is called "World Famous Gravy".  

It felt a little strange to see very familiar Pinoy products but with Dollar tags.  Like these famous chips for example, priced at 4 for 3$.  Of course expensive, but not that expensive compared to local(US) chips.

Confirmed! The infamous Pinoy Coconut Juice has strong following in the Western Hemisphere

Cupp Keyk and Skyflakes must bridge the homesickness of Pinoys in the US

Pacquiao Bradley Fight: The Aftermath

Are we just bitter losers?  24-hours passed and most are still questioning the decision of the judges.  I am not a big fan of the new Pacquiao - the one that incorrectly spews bible quotes regardless of context and question.  But I do believe he won the fight.  Yes!  I am also one of the most.

The numbers speak for themselves.  Judging is subjective but it should have been a little more objective if they rely on the stat cards.  Number of punches thrown and landed are counted for a reason.  So when the audience saw the Final Punchstats, that only made them furious.  For it was not even close, as you can see below.

Adding fuel to the fire, new Champion Bradley attended the press conference in a wheel chair!  So when was the last time such a thing happened.

In fairness to Bradley, he was quick, strong, bullish and he gave a good fight.  In my opinion, the match was close, but not that close.  I thought it was going to be 115-113, 115-113, 115-113, all in favor of Pacquiao.  That's how I saw it.

It is not only the Pinoys who are vocal about the results of the fight.  Many took it out on Facebook and especially on Twitter.

Here are some tweets that's gaining popularity in the internet.  First is from boxing correspondent and ringside interviewer Mario Lopez,  then from former boxing champ Oscar dela Hoya, next is from a popular Pinoy twitter FaceBuko trying humor to offset, and lastly by ESPN boxing Analyst, Nigel Collins.

Mario Lopez

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@MarioLopezExtra

I'm so disgusted. The JUDGES need to be drug tested! What fight were they watching?! I called the international broadcast and was on the...

9 Jun 12

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Mario Lopez

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@MarioLopezExtra

...apron and Pacquiao simply outclassed him. Wasn't even close in my eyes... Unbelievable. So disappointed in my sport. Boxing is killing me

9 Jun 12

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Video Replay embed only from YouTube:

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   Bradley should have given the belt and announce victory to paquiao right after the decision.

   
   

   Oscar De La Hoya

   
   

   a day ago

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1. BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Drilon, hiniling ang SALN ng dalawang judges na pumabor kay Bradley. Maaari raw silang i-impeach. #PacBradley #PacShet

   
   

   facebuko.com

   
   

   a day ago

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Nigel Collins@ESPNFNF

A tragic night for Pacquiao and boxing. It was perhaps the worse dec. I've ever seen. Anybody who thinks it was incompetence is a fool.  

10 Jun 12

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