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June, 2010

  1. Inaugural speech of Benigno Aquino III (Noynoy Aquino), 15th President, Republic of the Philippines

    June 30, 2010 by ajay

    Note: Full English translation follows the transcript of President Noynoy Aquino’s speech, mostly in Pilipino, delivered at the Quirino Grandstand today, June 30, 2010

    His Excellency Jose Ramos Horta, Former President Fidel V. Ramos, Former President Joseph Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and members of the Senate, House Speaker Prospero Nograles and members of the House, justices of the Supreme Court, members of the foreign delegations,Your Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, fellow colleagues in government, aking mga kababayan.

    Ang pagtayo ko dito ngayon ay patunay na kayo ang aking tunay na lakas. Hindi ko inakala na darating tayo sa puntong ito, na ako’y manunumpa sa harap ninyo bilang inyong Pangulo. Hindi ko pinangarap maging tagapagtaguyod ng pag-asa at tagapagmana ng mga suliranin ng ating bayan.

    Ang layunin ko sa buhay ay simple lang: maging tapat sa aking mga magulang at sa bayan bilang isang marangal na anak, mabait na kuya, at mabuting mamamayan.

    Nilabanan ng aking ama ang diktaturya at ibinuwis niya ang kanyang buhay para tubusin ang ating demokrasya. Inalay ng aking ina ang kanyang buhay upang pangalagaan ang demokrasyang ito. Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawat isa. Namuhunan na kami ng dugo at handang gawin itong muli kung kinakailangan.

    Tanyag man ang aking mga magulang at ang kanilang mga nagawa, alam ko rin ang problema ng ordinaryong mamamayan. Alam nating lahat ang pakiramdam na magkaroon ng pamahalaang bulag at bingi. Alam natin ang pakiramdam na mapagkaitan ng hustisya, na mabalewala ng mga taong pinagkatiwalaan at inatasan nating maging ating tagapagtanggol.

    Kayo ba ay minsan ring nalimutan ng pamahalaang inyong iniluklok sa puwesto? Ako rin. Kayo ba ay nagtiis na sa trapiko para lamang masingitan ng isang naghahari-hariang de-wangwang sa kalsada? Ako rin. Kayo ba ay sawang-sawa na sa pamahalaang sa halip na magsilbi sa taumbayan ay kailangan pa nila itong pagpasensiyahan at tiisin? Ako rin.

    Katulad ninyo ako. Marami na sa atin ang bumoto gamit ang kanilang paa – nilisan na nila ang ating bansa sa kanilang paghahanap ng pagbabago at katahimikan. Tiniis nila ang hirap, sinugod ang panganib sa ibang bansa dahil doon may pag-asa kahit kaunti na dito sa atin ay hindi nila nakikita. Sa iilang sandali na sarili ko lang ang aking inaalala, pati ako ay napag-isip din – talaga bang hindi na mababago ang pamamahala natin dito? Hindi kaya nasa ibang bansa ang katahimikang hinahanap ko? Saan ba nakasulat na kailangang puro pagtitiis ang tadhana ng Pilipino?

    Ngayon, sa araw na ito – dito magwawakas ang pamumunong manhid sa mga daing ng taumbayan. Hindi si Noynoy ang gumawa ng paraan, kayo ang dahilan kung bakit ngayon, magtatapos na ang pagtitiis ng sambayanan. Ito naman ang umpisa ng kalbaryo ko, ngunit kung marami tayong magpapasan ng krus ay kakayanin natin ito, gaano man kabigat.
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    Category Noynoy presidency | Tags: ,,,, | 4 Comments

  2. Samsung Galaxy S debuts in the Philippines, free at Globe Plan 2499 for July only!

    June 29, 2010 by ajay

    Models Raya Mananquil , Isabel Roces and Valerie De los Santos are a sight to behold, but even more of an eye candy is the smartphone they’re holding: the much-touted Samsung Galaxy S which made its debut in the Philippines today.

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    Something about the Samsung Galaxy S specifications make it the “must have” gadget of the season. I certainly drooled the first time I held it in my hands. Its enviable feature set includes: super sleek form factor, 4-inch super AMOLED touchscreen, HD video capability, powerful 1 GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, internal memory of up to 16GB (expandable to 32GB by microSD) and of course it is using Android OS version 2.1 which should make it user-friendly for us using Google :D

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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  3. June 30 holiday and special offers from Enchanted Kingdom, Cebu Pacific

    June 29, 2010 by ajay

    Enchanted Kingdom

    Enchanted Kingdom’s yellow treat:

    By simply wearing yellow on Wednesday (any clothing or shoes that constitute 75% yellow), enjoy a one day special rate of P350 each on Enchanted Kingdom’s Regular Day Passes.

    On June 30, 2010 the Park will be opened from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Fireworks Display at 8:30PM. EK Biki Waterworld, EK’s water park, on the other hand, will be closed on that day and will resume on July 3 to 4 from 3p.m. to 9 p.m.

    Cebu Pacific’s P15 seat sale!:

    ” Cebu Pacific (CEB) salutes the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, with a system-wide seat sale as low as P15. The Seat Sale starts now until June 30, 2010, for travel from October 1 to November 30, 2010.
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    Category Blah-blahs | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Shalani Soledad to wear Rajo Laurel gown at President Noy’s inauguration

    June 28, 2010 by ajay

    Shalani Soledad

    Photo via Rajo Laurel on Twitter

    Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad will wear a yellow gown made by leading designer Rajo Laurel during the historic inauguration of her boyfriend Noynoy Aquino on June 30, 2010.

    We caught on Twitter this picture of Shalani fitting the gown, presumably in Rajo Laurel’s Makati atelier. Fans were quick to say she looks lovely in the gown, which is really a terno, a Filipino costume popularized by former First Lady Imelda Marcos. The color of choice is of course yellow. Even while being Noynoy’s girlfriend, Shalani is known to have been one of the tireless supporters of the Noynoy campaign.
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    Category Noynoy presidency | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  5. Neo affordable notebooks

    June 28, 2010 by ajay

    Neo notebook

    I know of some friends who own Neo notebooks. Before the other brands slashed their prices to make laptops affordable to the masses, there was Neo. I was even more surprised to learn that it’s an all-Filipino brand. I was glad to be invited to a press briefing last week where Neo executives unveiled their latest offerings. According to their price list, the cheapest netbook that can be had is their Basic B3233 which is available for P14,999 cash.

    Its more powerful variant, the B3230 has such specifications as the Intel Atom N450 (Pinetrail platform), 2 GB of memory, 320GB hard drive, Wifi connectivity, preinstalled Windows 7 Starter and enviable weight of only 1.2 kg. Market price is P17,999.
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    Category Technews | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  6. June brides and the launch of Artistry foundation

    June 26, 2010 by ajay

    It is still, after all, the ‘marry month’ of June. Two important things come to mind in being a bride: wedding gown and make-up. Artistry, the prestige make-up brand of leading direct seller Amway, combined both when it held the launch of its two newest products: the Artistry Balancing Foundation and Hydrating Foundation. It held a fashion show featuring wedding gowns designed by celebrity couturier Francis Libiran, and brief make-up lessons from Victor Ortega whom we’ve had the pleasure of learning some make-up tricks before.

    Francis Libiran has dressed up young celebrities Anne Curtis and Bea Alonzo and we certainly enjoyed viewing his 2010 wedding gown collection. I dunno if it was just the model-perfect, reed-thin physique of those women sashaying down the runway but Libiran’s gowns certainly looked immaculate.We loved his emphasis on sleek lines, bottom layering and free-flowing silhouettes.

    Artistry launch

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    Category Beauty | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  7. BUM is for grunge and goth

    June 25, 2010 by ajay

    bum fashion

    BUM is one of the oldest, most enduring, fashion labels in the Philippines. It used to be called by a much longer name Bum Equipment (itself an international brand). We are happy to hear that the label is still doing well despite the seeming saturation of the clothing market and the influx of cheap imports from China. We heard it from owners Gerwin Cue and Nathan Atienza themselves that BUM has been able to ride the tide by changing their logo and focusing on Philippine provincial cities where most of the market remains untapped. It is, no less, an inspiring business story.

    At present, the BUM market is the youth aged 13 to 18 who are drawn to the label’s fashion-forward designs. Their creative people realized that the young are drawn to grunge and goth themes and that is what they set out to do with their look. For instance, Bum’s latest Collar-Ups Collection is inspired by the trendy street wear of places like the Harajuku District in Tokyo.
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    Category Shopping Etc. | Tags: ,,,,,,, | No Comments

  8. Al Gore secks scandal : shocking!

    June 25, 2010 by ajay

    Al Gore-JTM-046735

    Considering that he was just in the Philippines recently for the climate change forum An Inconvenient Truth, the news about a sex scandal that Al Gore figured in way back in 2006 is, to say the least, shocking. The whole brouhaha is based on a National Enquirer report where Gore is described as a “sex crazed poodle” by a massage therapist he reportedly made advances on.

    In the Philippines, there are some spas which take pains to advertise clean massage :D But former VP Gore allegedly needed some warming up, and this warming up didn’t have anything to do with global warming.

    Excerpted from The First Post:

    According to a 73-page ‘Confidential Special Report’ made public by Portland (Oregon) police yesterday, the masseuse was asked to do abdominal and “abductor” work on Gore. The latter meant massaging his inner thigh, she explained to police.

    But when she started working on his abdomen, he began to moan and demanded she “go lower”. She told police: “I was shocked, and I did not massage beyond what is considered a safe, nonsexual area of the abdomen… He further insisted and acted angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud.

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    Category People | Tags: ,,,,,,, | No Comments

  9. Culinary schools in Manila: MIHCA

    June 23, 2010 by ajay

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    After the oversupply of nursing students – some of whom have found themselves jobless and unable to leave the country, until the next demand wave occurs – culinary courses are getting to be the next popular choice. I know of a lot of friends whose sons or daughters want to go to culinary school. One of the reasons is probably the field’s glamorization brought about by the rise of celebrity chefs (think Jamie Oliver) and reality competition shows like Top Chef. Another factor is passion and inclination. I, for one, would rather deal with pumpkins and chicken meat than blood :D

    The only downside is that it’s quite expensive to go to chefs’ school (though I imagine this is still way cheaper than going to Les Roches hotel school in Switzerland).In an event last week, I was able to visit the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality & Culinary Arts (also known as MIHCA). Here I learned that their certificate programs in Professional Culinary Arts Studies and Professional Baking & Pastry Arts Studies cost Philippine peso P180,000. This is for seven months of study which includes four months of hands-on training in MIHCA’s school facilities and three months of practicum or apprenticeship.
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    Category Education & Careers | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 10 Comments

  10. President Noynoy likes shabu-shabu?

    June 23, 2010 by ajay

    With P-Noy

    A big fan moment with President-elect Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy for short).I am certainly happy to have this picture taken with him, a week before he takes his oath as the 15th President of the Republic. While the marital troubles of sister Kris and her husband James Yap was in the news, bachelor Noy was calmly eating delicious shabu-shabu at the Podium mall, relishing perhaps his final few days of normalcy and privacy.

    But privacy, perhaps, is elusive if ordinary Juanas like me run after pictures with him.If you’ve been reading this blog, he was really the only presidential candidate I wrote about and rooted for in the last elections. And that is why I appeared “star-struck,” as the husband would say. And all I could really say to him in person was “Congratulations, Mr. President.” :D
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    Category Noynoy presidency | Tags: ,, | 2 Comments

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