Happy Anniversary Ci and Kristine!

Ci and Kristine Donasco will celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary today. Congratulations and Best Wishes!

For some of their wedding pix, please check these links: link1, link 2.

in memoriam Concepcion Jacala - Anquilan

Mana Iday returned to her creator on May 23, 2010. She was 87.

Patrun sa Sabang

Maupay nga Patrun sa mga taga Barangay Trinidad!

Santacruzan sa Tabuk

Sugad san nababatasan (kada pag-abut san katapusan nga semana san bulan san Mayo), guinbuhat an Santacruzan de Obrero kanina nga kulop.

A good number of Calbayognons refer to the activity as the one which started the (colorful) Santacruzan traditon in Calbayog. Ini nahimugso tungod san paningkamot san nawara nga si Carlos "Laling" Baculando, nira Nieves "Bebing" Ason, Charlie Coñejos sugan man san mga opisyales ug iba pa nga mga lumlupyo san Obrero o san Tabuk.

An Santacruzan kanina nagtikang mga alas 5:00 san kulop katapus san usa nga santos nga misa nga guin buhat didto sa kapilya ni San Isidro Labrador, an patrono san Barangay Obrero. An hermana mayor yana nga tu-ig mao si Simplicia "Tisia" Cabrillas.

Adi an pipira nga mga litrato an akun nakuha pag-agi san Santacruzan sa amon dapit sa may pandayan sa purok uno.

An unahan san Santacruzan pag-agi sa pandayan.

An pipira nga mga Reynas: Fe, Emperatriz, De Las Alas, Del Rosario, Martirez ug Caridad.

An mga Reginas.

An Carroza san Birhen

An mga angheles. Where there are kids, expect the (stage) parents to be there :-)

An pirmi parte san prusisyun: an mga mamaratbat.

As expected, vehicles had to wait as the Santacruzan made it's way from the city proper back to the Obrero Chapel.

Calbayognon is 6th placer in 2010 CPA Board Exam

Congratulations to REYNALDO M. PRUDENCIADO, Jr. He landed in the 6th place in the 2010 CPA Board Exam. He belongs to the Christ the King College BSA Class 2008-2009.

images from my old hometown

Let me give you something to smile about this Sunday. It's a notice from a local store in Calbayog. It's one of those stores which sell super cheap (read: low-priced) imported (mostly China-made) stuff. Forget the grammar, the good news is at least they don't practice "no return no exchange policy".

Smile! It's a new week!

images from my old hometown: Flores de Mayo

Nahinumdum pa kam sini? Since time we can remember, kada bulan san Mayo an mga kabataan labi na an mga kababayin-an nagliliwan sin busag ug magdara san bisan nanu nga bukad para san Flores de Mayo. Sa kada katapusan san misa, sira maglilinya, and with some sort of a choreography, they raise their flowers (to the tune of a tuktuk made by an old lady) , and one by one after a short procession offer it to the image of the Blessed Virgin as the faithful sing: "Kadi kita, paghalad sin bukad kan Maria..."

Argie and Tata

Argie Muncada of Sto. Niño and Samila "Tata" Abrito of Barangay Nijaga will get married today. Fr. Dondon Paulino will preside over their wedding mass at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Reception will be held at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center.

more on Jean Reni Briones De Guzman

Here's a news report I got from GMA-7 News:

And from the Manila Bulletin:

4 young Filipinos win in world science tilt
By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT

The Intel Corporation and Society for Science and the Public announced Thursday that four Filipino students won major awards in the world’s largest pre-college science competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held in San Jose, California, USA last May 9 to 14 . . . (read more)

Filipino science students win big in California

Let me give you an update / follow-up on my earlier blogpost about Jean Reni De Guzman.

Jean Reni Briones De Guzman (right) with (l-r) Marc Arthur Jordan Limpiado, Marc Mapalo and Maria Clara Isable Sia.

(By Kim Patria, Special to Yahoo! Southeast Asia)

Dealing with local environmental and health problems using materials found locally, four incoming college students from the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) bagged multiple awards at an international science fair in California, May 14.

Marc Mapalo, 16; Jean Reni De Guzman, 17; Maria Clara Isabel Sia, 15; and Marc Arthur Jordan Limpiado, 16, who recently graduated from the PSHS Eastern Visayas Campus in Leyte, arrived on Monday bearing prizes from the Intel International Science Fair (ISEF) where more than 1,600 pre-college students from 59 participating countries competed.

The team of Mapalo, De Guzman, and Sia bagged fourth place in the team competition with their study on red tide while Limpiado’s research on the antibacterial properties of seaweed extracts also took home fourth place.

“We wanted to provide solutions to the problems in the country using locally available materials,” Mapalo said, explaining how they used natural materials like clay, shrimp peelings, and malunggay seeds to clot algae in water.

Algae are microscopic waterborne plants, an excess of which covers water surfaces, depriving fish and other marine life of oxygen.

“Red tide is a problem in the Philippines,” Sia said, citing the case of Sorsogon Bay in the Bicol region which is frequently declared a red tide area.

Meanwhile, Limpiado, who probed how seaweed extracts can potentially kill bacteria, said his findings suggest that the antibacterial properties of Philippine seaweeds are comparable with that of the generic antibiotic amoxicillin mixed with acid.

Limpiado stressed that he used crude extraction by simply soaking seaweeds in liquid solutions, saying that more advanced processes of extraction like liquid chromatography could produce better results.

“My study could also be further improved to include antiviral applications,” Limpiado added.

Intel Philippines Country Manager Ricky Banaag said two out of three of the projects sent by the Philippine delegation won, with Hanna Escobido and Brayl Ymbol of CARAGA State University Cabadbaran Campus also competing.

The Philippine team was selected through a nationwide competition in the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City in February.

Banaag added that some countries like Brazil had more than 30 participants.

Asked if the number of projects other countries send pose pressure on Intel Philippines to produce more research outputs, Banaag said they prefer quality over quantity.

Dr. Filma Brawner, president of the PSHS system, meanwhile, said all their students are expected to produce research projects as part of their school requirements.

Brawner added that the students’ winning projects will be pursued by PSHS by making some students work on the recommendations.

All four students are enrolling this June. Sia will take up computer science at the Ateneo de Manila University; Limpiado and Mapalo enrolling in UP Diliman under the chemical engineering and molecular biology and biotechnology programs respectively; and De Guzman taking up biology in UP Los Baños.

assistance desc

Let me give you something to smile about today. Yup, during the recently-concluded election, there was a security assistance desc near the polling area in our barangay.

Please don't take it seriously. Again, I just wanted to give you something to smile about today.

so, what is your think?

Here's something which I dunnnow if I will be amused or what. It's a picture I took of a comfort room. So, what about it? It's located in the middle of a rice field along the national highway. Thanks to the El Niño, the rice field doesn't look a rice field (parang redundant ano?). So, why would somebody install a CR in the middle of a rice field, let me re-word that, in the middle of a dried rice field. I understand this is for the construction workers who are currently doing some project along the national highway.

If I may borrow that (in)famous line said by a local teacher-doctor, "So, what is your think?"

Smile! Have a nice day!

and it happened again

We saw various images during the recent elections. The long lines, the reminders on how to vote properly (on top of voting wisely) . . .

. . . the PCOS machines, the long ballots, the congratulatory message and this . . .

. . . oops, don't look for the name of the candidate, I deleted it.

Patrun sa Tabuk

Maupay nga Patrun sa akon mga igkasi taga Barangay Obrero!

Patrun sa Palanas, Cagsalaosao ngan Bagacay

Maupay nga Patrun sa mga taga Barangay Palanas, Cagsalaosao ug Bagacay!

last pcos to arrive

So, what makes this PCOS machine special? Wala lang, it's the last one to be delivered to the City Hall after the elections. It was the one used in Barangay Naguma; and it arrived earlier this afternoon via habal-habal. Now, that mode of transport gives you an idea as to how far Barangay Naguma is from the city proper.

in memoriam Celda Ladrero

Tita Celda returned to her creator today. She was 64 years old.

partial official results

Let me give you an update on the figures from the Consolidated Canvassing Board which convened again today at the Conference Hall of the Old Barracks Building (Handumanan).

Partial and official results as of 5:00 pm today. 75% of the total number of precincts counted. I got these figures courtesy of Eleen Lim / DYOG Radyo ng Bayan.

Local Posts:

Congressman:

• Roño, Mario: 657
• Sarmiento, Mel Senen: 33,829
• Tuazon, Rodolfo: 21,913

Governor:

• Lim, Casilda: 26,014
• Redaja, Jesus: 8,294
• Tan, Sharee Ann: 22,320

Vice Governor:

• Grey, Joseph: 5,913
• Rosales, Rosenaida: 30,336
• Tan, Stephen James: 19,520

Mayor:

• Rivera, Diego: 20,621
• Uy, Reynaldo: 38,567

Vice Mayor:

• Aquino, Ronaldo: 38,446
• Ricafort, Cesario: 18,907

Board Members:

• Coñejos, Charlito: 35,115
• Dy, Prudencio: 25,555
• Edem, Yancita: 14,549
• Pallones-Lim, Arlene: 4,023
• Rosales, Jose Precioso: 18,552
• Rumohr, Vicky: 1,8124
• Sabenicio, Cesar 20,741
• Sermense, Noel: 31,358
• Sumagang, Jasper: 29,878
• Tiu, Antonio: 878
• Uy, Renato: 30,630
• White, Beatriz: 17,833

Councilors (1st District):

• Aquino, Mark: 16,194
• Ayong, Sylvan: 10,326
• Clemens, Virgilio: 15,464
• Durmiendo, Romeo: 8,715
• Gal, Bernardo: 7,889
• Luaton, Genaro: 9,507
• Martirez, Billy: 9,442
• Montealto, Jonas: 14,437
• Pasacas, Arturo: 15,975
• Salurio, Susano: 14,658
• Tan, Jocelyn: 9,404
• Uy, Raymond: 15,952

Councilors (2nd District):

• Bagsarsa, Ligaya: 8,742
• Bernate, Danilo: 17,697
• Casurao, Rogelio: 15,149
• Dean, Ramon: 11,853
• Johnson, Nancy: 9,253
• Mancol, Julius: 17,067
• Perito, Fernando: 1,393
• Porlares Virgilio: 14,845
• Rabuya, Regina: 15,821
• Sabi, Aquilina: 14,246
• Salibio, Ramon: 5,871
• Tangaran, Dennis: 1,047
• Uy, Rey James: 19,785
• Ventures, Cesar: 7,770

For more election results, please check these links:COMELEC (Calbayog City), COMELEC (Samar), GMA News

The day after

Surely things were fast with the election. Oops, I forgot about the long lines. My comment about the lines is best said in binisaya: "An linya kakulop dire mahinay, kindi nakamang."

Here are some pix I managed to take earlier today at the City Hall compound.

Employees from the City Treasurer's Office as they set-up "shop" at the back of the City Hall to receive the ballot boxes from the teachers.

The Julio Cardinal Rosales Plaza minus the election posters and streamers.

Some SMARTMATIC personnel receiving the PCOS machines at the City Hall stage.

The trucks on hand to deliver the PCOS machines to well, wherever its final destination is (Laguna, I heard)

partial results

Let me give you some figures which I got courtesy of DYOG Radyo ng Bayan / Eleen Lim. Partial results from the Consolidated Canvassing Board which convened at the Conference Hall of the Old Barracks Building (Handumanan) on May 10, 2010 at approximately 7:00 pm.

54 precincts. 25.37% of the 201 clustered precincts. As of 11:00 pm May 10, 2010

Local Posts:

Congressman:

• Sarmiento, Mel Senen: 10,988
• Tuazon, Rodolfo: 6,623
  

Governor:

• Lim, Casilda: 8,444
• Tan, Sharee Ann: 6,756
• Redaja, Jesus: 2,636

Vice Governor:

• Rosales, Rosenaida: 9,840
• Tan, Stephen James: 5,998
• Grey, Joseph: 1,638

Mayor:

• Uy, Reynaldo: 12,489
• Rivera, Diego: 6,059

Vice Mayor:

• Aquino, Ronaldo: 12,629
• Ricafort, Cesario: 5,412

Board Members:

• Coñejos, Charlito: 11,719
• Sermense, Noel: 10,504
• Sumagang, Jasper: 9,544
• Uy, Renato: 9,963
• Dy, Prudencio: 8,453
• Sabenicio, Cesar: 5,923
• Rosales, Precioso: 5,574
• Rumohr, Vicky: 5,368
• White, Beatriz: 5,329
• Edem, Yanicita: 4,193

Councilors (1st District):

• Aquino, Mark: 4,862
• Uy, Raymond: 4,794
• Pasacas, Arturo: 4,665
• Clemens, Virgilio: 4,482
• Salurio, Susano: 4,271
• Montealto, Jonas: 4,264
• Ayong, Sylvan: 2,618
• Martires, Billy: 2,336
• Luaton, Genaro: 2,219
• Durmiendo, Romeo: 2,160
• Tan, Jocelyn: 2,066
• Gal, Bernardo: 2,071

Councilors (2nd District):

• Uy, Rey James: 6,817
• Bernate, Danilo: 6,364
• Mancol, Julius: 5,971
• Rabuya, Regina: 5,471
• Casurao, Roger: 5,090
• Porlares Virgilio: 5,031
• Sabi, Aquilina: 4,779
• Dean, Ramon: 4,161
• Bagsarsa, Ligaya: 3,474
• Johnson, Nancy: 3,059
• Ventures, Cesar: 2,675

For more election results, please check these links:
COMELEC (Calbayog City), COMELEC (Samar), GMA News

Patrun sa Tinambacan

Maupay nga Patrun sa mga taga Barangay Tinambacan!

(break anay) election 101: reminders from the PPCRV

10 COMMANDMENTS FOR RESPONSIBLE VOTING
from the
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE VOTING
(PPCRV)

---

Thou shalt vote according to the dictate of your conscience.

Thou shalt respect the decision of others in choosing their candidates.

Thou shalt seek to know the moral dignity, capabilities and other personal qualities of the candidate you will vote for.

Thou shalt strive to understand the issues, platform and programs of candidates and parties seeking your vote.

Thou shalt not sell your vote.

Thou shalt not vote for candidates using guns, goons, and gold.

Thou shalt not vote for candidates with records of graft and corruption, and human rights violation.

Thou shalt not vote for candidates just because of utang na loob, personal appearance, popularity or pakikisama.

Thou shalt not vote for candidates living an immoral life.

Thou shalt not put the welfare of the country above all else in choosing the candidate you will vote for.

break anay: CNN on elections and political dynasties

It's two days to the elections. I came across a CNN report on the election and political dynasties. I thought I'd like to share that report. But to be honest, it's because Imelda is in the report. Wala pong kokontra :-). Smile it's a weekend.

Great Times Events and Tours Calbayog Branch is one year old

Great Times Events and Tours Calbayog Branch will celebrate its 1st Anniversary on Saturday, May 8, 2010. The staff will treat their loyal clients to an "appreciation dinner" tomorrow night.

Great Times Events and Tours is located along Justice Road (near the Hall of Justice) in Barangay Capoocan, Calbayog City. For inquiries you may call (+63 55) 209-27-65. Or you may check www.gr8times.com.

(break anay) election 101: 20 Things Every Voter Should Do Before and While Voting:

Here's something I got from a fellow blogger (adayinthelifeofrj.com). I thought I'd like to share it with you.

20 Things Every Voter Should Do Before and While Voting:

1. Verify your precinct number prior to May 10. It’s fastest to do it online — Click here to “find out your own precinct number”. By the way, if you have time, you may want to help map your precinct through Google maps — this will benefit the people looking for the same precinct where you belong.

2. If you have a computer and printer at home, or if you can go online and print somewhere else (cybercafes/computer shops), please print a ballot sample so you can get a “feel” of how to shade the ovals, see how small they actually look like and test how fast you can do your shading.

There are two (2) sample ballots in the COMELEC website — one for the national posts, and one for the local posts. Print both. Note that in the actual ballot paper, the candidates for the local posts are located at the back of the ballot paper. Click below to download sample ballots:

a) National ballot template for ARMM areas

b. National ballot template for Non-ARMM areas

c) Local ballot templates

3. Write down a complete list of your preferred candidates on a sheet of paper. Bring that with you on May 10.

4. Come to your precinct as early as you possibly can.

5. Watch out for people distributing “sample ballots” or other election-related posters or leaflets. Campaigning is NO LONGER ALLOWED during election day, May 10. If you see one, take note and report it.

6. When you have found your precinct number, approach the BEI and verify your identity with them against their registered voter’s list. If everything is in order, they will give you your ballot paper and ballot secrecy folder.

7. Before leaving the BEI’s table, do a quick scan of the ballot paper — it should have prints on the front and back side, if you think there are missing information or something is defaced or blurry, inform the BEI immediately before sitting on your chair.

8. If everything looks okay, find a seat and shade ballots based on your prepared list of preferred candidates.

***WARNING: There is ONLY one ballot paper per voter. There are NO EXTRA BALLOTS. If you make mistakes, you can no longer ask for another ballot. Your vote is good as GONE. Don’t let that happen. Prepare your list and double-check your ballot entries/shades. ***

9. The ballot secrecy folder is not an accessory for display. Its purpose is to keep your vote SECRET. Use it! Your votes are sacred. Guard it with your life.

10. Shade the ovals completely. Dots and half-shades will not be counted.

11. Be sure not to overvote (or voting for more candidates than what is required, like voting for 13 senators instead of just 12).

12. Remember that it’s okay to undervote ( or voting for less than what’s required, like voting for less than 12 senators).

13. DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ANYWHERE ELSE on the ballot paper. While Smartmatic claims that the PCOS will disregard any/all marks outside the ovals, it is better to play safe.

14. Do not crumple or fold your ballot paper to avoid problems when inserting it to the PCOS machine.

15. When you’re done shading, go to where the PCOS machine is and insert your ballot paper. WARNING: No other person is allowed to do the inserting for you! Inserting the ballot into the PCOS machine is integral to the voting process. YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF. If it takes you longer than usual, the BEI may assist you but it is you who will insert the ballot in EVERY attempt.

16. If you have done everything according to instructions, the machine will get your paper and prompt or display a “Thank you for voting!” message on the small screen to the right side of the PCOS machine. That is your signal that your job is done.

17. The BEI will put indelible ink on your finger as a sign of your participation and as a reminder that you can only vote once.

Wear that ink proud and relish the moment (even for a few seconds) that you have THE POWER to effect change — that there is NO SMALL VOTE — and that you have all the right to the benefits of democracy because you are an active participant in it and not a lousy, sourgraping and self-righteous spectator sitting on the fence.

18. Ooops! Hold on! Your job isn’t quite finished. Guarding your votes is just as important as casting it. So don’t leave the results to destiny and chance — log on to the COMELEC website and check on the real-time results for municipal level. Report all irregularities and resist all attempts to tamper results.

19. Wait for a few hours and you will have new municipal leaders proclaimed. Two to three days tops and we should have a new president-elect, vice-president, senators, etc.

20. Don’t be a sore loser. Whoever wins as president, as long as the elections are verified credible, support him or her with all your heart. After all, this country’s future does not depend on one man alone. There are 94M of us, if everyone will do his/her job, we wouldn’t have to blame one person all the time.

Think this post can help others prepare for the elections? Feel free to share these 20 voting tips to your social network. You’ll never know what difference it can make unless you try. The clock is ticking. Don’t wait until the last minute. Remember, we’ve waited 100 years for this: Failure is not an option.

(break anay) election 101: PCIJ public service ADs

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) has come up with some public service ADs in line with the forthcoming automated elections (yup, even before the the recent PCOS flimflam). Anyway, I think the whole thing helps. Check this link.

(break anay) election 101: find your precint

We are days away to the elections . Just in case you'd like to know you precinct online, check this link.

Let me warn you though, after many tries I was able to access the site only at around 5:00 a.m. today.

(break anay) election 101: and the survey says . . .

Aside from the usual mud-slinging (what's Philippine elections withut it?), the other thing that makes the forthcoming polls exciting or exasperating (depending upon whioch candidate's siad you are) are the various survey results.

Here's something I got from Philippine Business online magazine. It's an artricle on surveys in line with the 2004 elections. I guess it's contents are still relevant to the forthcoming elections (yup, the PCOS flimflam notwithsanding).

7 Rules for Reading Surveys

Heading into the 2004 elections, expect more surveys to pop up in the press. The most-often quoted ones will be those of Social Weather Stations, Pulse Asia, and ASW Roper. Don’t believe everything you read about a survey in the media. Reporters tend to gloss over the technical details of survey preparation and rush for headline-grabbing news. Here’s a quick guide on how to read surveys:

Rule 1: Check who’s conducting the survey. All surveys and polling companies are not alike. Some use scientific methods while others don’t. Make sure you are reading the results of a reputable pollster.

Rule 2: Check who’s sponsoring the survey. In the Philippines, political surveys are typically sponsored or commissioned by third parties. For instance, SWS surveys on presidential candidates are commissioned by media companies or political consultancies. The sponsors, and not SWS, submit the names to be tested in the surveys.

Rule 3: Surveys are snapshots of opinion. Surveys provide a picture of public opinion at given points in time. The mood or opinion are of course subject to change. That’s why surveys taken at different times may reflect different opinions. For presidential elections, surveys are typically conducted every month, with the frequency increasing the closer we get to elections.

Rule 4: Sampling matters. The only reliable surveys use a sampling method known as stratified, random sampling. Respondents to the survey are typically drawn randomly from all socioeconomic classes (i.e., AB, C, DE) and all regions (Metro Manila; the rest of Luzon; Visayas; and Mindanao). For a presidential survey to make any sense, all respondents should be aged 18 and above and be registered voters. Both SWS and Pulse Asia use sample sizes of 1000 to 1200 persons. All respondents are given face-to-face interviews. ASW Roper surveys usually cover only 300 people and are limited to businessmen. Some, if not all, may have been interviewed over the phone.

It should be noted that random samples allow for inferential statistics; that is, a pollster may make a projection from the data to cover the entire population. Non-scientific samples allow for only descriptive statistics; that is, they only describe the opinion or behavior of the survey group.

Rule 5: Margins of error. Survey results have a margin of error. For SWS and Pulse Asia, it is usually plus/minus 3 percent. This means that any result within this margin is statistically a tie and too close to call. Concretely, if Candidate A has 20 percent of the vote and Candidate B has 18 percent, the race is too close to call and could go either way. Media rarely makes this distinction.

Rule 6: Make sure the survey is real. Political dirty-tricks campaign operations have been known to release fabricated survey results under the names of legitimate pollsters. Since media doesn’t verify all reports, it’s best not to believe news items until you check pollsters’ websites. Both SWS and Pulse Asia have been victimized in this way in the last two months.

Rule 7: What was the question again? The press is usually quick to give you the results but oftentimes fails to even give you the question. The relevant question is “Who would you vote for?” rather than “Who do you think will win?”

Different people read surveys differently. Political parties check them (and commission them) regularly because they want to know who to field. In other words, they want to check for so-called “winnability”. Others read them to find out who to support or bankroll in an election. And still others want to simply find out who’s leading the race today. What people should not do is to read a survey so they’ll make up their minds about who to vote for. That’s not opinion measurement.

By the way, ever met anyone who’s been surveyed before?

Patrun sa Rawis

Maupay nga Patrun sa mga taga Barangay Rawis.

Patrun sa Ipao

Maupay nga Patrun sa mga taga Barangay San Policarpo!