There’s a party in Manila Bay — and I hope it remains a party all through the night

Miley Cyrus at the Mandarin Hotel in Ciudad de Macati yesterday.

As I write this, American actress and teenage pop singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus is currently partying with thousands of her Filipino fans at the SM Mall of Asia.

I just hope that she performs one of her popular songs and then change one of its lines to ♪ there’s a party in Manila Bay… ♫ to fit the setting.

And while she’s out there strutting her stuff in that huge Chinese-owned mall in Manila Bay, the Bureau of Immigration has alerted its intelligence people to be on the lookout against any possible terrorist attacks in the metro:

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has alerted all its intelligence operatives following reports that members of the Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah were working with Abu Sayyaf group to bomb targets in Metro Manila, Commissioner Ricardo David, Jr. said Friday.

David also instructed BI operatives in the different ports of entry to be on heightened alert and be on the lookout for foreign terror suspects who might attempt to slip into the country.

At the same time, David ordered BI Intelligence Chief Maria Antonette Mangrobang to closely coordinate with military and police intelligence officials in verifying the report about the alleged presence of foreign terrorists here.

A scary scenario: what if —God forbid— they launch an attack on that Miley Cyrus concert tonight (I’m sure those Jemaah Islamiyah creeps would love to have her)?

A likely result: China will continue bullying the Philippines over the disputed Spratly Islands (a group of islands that is rightfully our own). In the end, those slit-eyed pseudo-commies will occupy them. And the Philippines will not be able to lift a finger because the US WASPs will not back us anymore due to that carnage in Manila Bay.

In the long run the Chinese will attack the whole country to avenge the destruction of their darling boy Henry Sy’s money-making machine along our historic bay. The old Chinese-Filipino families (Ongpín, Tantoco, Tuazon, Yuchengco, Cojuangco, etc.) might even throw their support to the new invaders.

So better pray. Pray that that party will have a happy ending. And that Miley will still be able to sing See You Again to her Filipino fans (heaven forbid that one, too).

Oh, why do I think morbid thoughts…?

The true Filipino language is OFFICIALLY back on track!!!

¡Mecachis! Is this true?

IT IS TRUE!!!

Spain, Philippines sign agreement on Spanish language

Spain will help the Philippines reintroduce Spanish language instruction at public schools in the southeastern Asian country under an agreement signed Tuesday between the two nations.

The study of the language is currently voluntary at public high schools in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, but the government plans to make its availability widespread from 2012.

Under the agreement signed Tuesday, Madrid will help train Spanish language teachers in the Philippines, help develop the curriculum and provide electronic teaching aids as well as technical advice, the Spanish foreign ministry said.

It was signed by the Philippines’ Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and the Spanish education ministry’s director for international relations, José Manuel Mart¡nez Sierra in Barcelona, it added in a statement.

In 1987 the Philippines abolished Spanish as one of its official languages as well as a requirement that college students had to learn it.

The language, one of the world’s most spoken, has since largely vanished from everyday use in the country of just under 100 million people, with English and the local languages now commonly used.

Unlike in Madrid’s colonies in Latin America, the Spanish language was never as widespread in the Philippines, mainly because of the small number of Spanish settlers in the archipelago.

English was introduced to the country when it passed from Spanish to American control after the Spanish-American war of 1898. (Inquirer.net)

Mr. Lapus has been tirely working on this effort since Gloria Arroyo’s last official visit to Madrid in late 2007. Kudos to Mr. Lapus for an incredible achievement in Filipinism!

This is a great leap forward to recovering our true national identity which was taken away from us through a systematic leyenda negra perpetrated by neocolonial WASPs and their local lackeys. With the Spanish language all set to be taught in public schools, this will enable the ordinary Filipino youth to finally realize their “innate Spanishness”. And through this realization, the incontrovertibility of our “latinoness” will come into fruition.

As I’ve been harping for many years, Spanish is crucial to the Filipino character. No less than the great Senator Claro M. Recto summarized it this way…

It is certainly not for sentimental motives or deference to the great Spanish nation that gave her religion, language, and culture to half of the world that we profess devotion to this language but because of national egoism and because of imperatives of patriotism, because Spanish is already ours, our own, blood of our blood and flesh of our flesh, for so willed our martyrs, heroes and statesmen of the past and without it the inventory of our cultural patrimony would be wrong.

My comrade Arnaldo is correct in so many ways: our Spanishness makes us more Filipino.

A very special thenks to The Showroom Manager for the timely heads up!

Gordon brandishes replica of Spanish era sword to recall ancestor’s heroism

Caniá-caniáng gimik lang yan…

Gordon brandishes replica of Spanish era sword to recall ancestor’s heroism

To fire up his campaign, presidential candidate and senator Richard Gordon brandished on Tuesday, a replica of the sword his great-grandfather, José Tagle, seized from a Spanish general in remembrance of the “first victory of the (1896) Revolution,” in Cavite.

Gordon said his ancestor Tagle played a key role as an ally of General Emilio Aguinaldo. Inquirer.net

Senator Dick Gordon (with other politicians) beside the historical marker of his great grandfather, José Tagle, one of the heroes of the Battle of Imus. Photo taken during the commemoration of the 112th anniversary of The Battle of Imus (09/02/2008).

But somebody please… take that Spanish sword away from that — American!

Incredible longevity for a “Filipina at heart”

Jessie Lichauco at 98: Feasting by the Pásig, dances with memories

When someone asked the “Birthday Girl” to dance, her fair skin almost blushed and a dreamy look came over her gray-green eyes. She said, “thank you, but I am dancing with my memories.”

Together with a hundred guests of all ages and from all corners of life, Jessie Lichauco celebrated her 98th birthday last Jan. 10.

Talented 7-year-old Hannah sang the Philippine National Anthem in the garden of an ancient home along the Pasig River. Tita Jessie then personally greeted each guest with an energetic smile and spry movements, her ageless body moving in rhythm with the live big-band music provided by The Executives, whose selection of music from days gone by provided backdrop to the ever-flowing conversation.

Each friend or relative was there because this lady had left an unforgettable imprint on their lives.

Larry Henares recounts, “When my wife Cecilia died of a sudden heart attack while we were in Paris, I was so devastated that I could not bear the thought of telling my children about their mother’s death. The first thing I did was call Tita Jessie—I knew she would know the best way to tell them and comfort them at the same time.”

Jessie Lichauco with her granddaughter Sunshine de León (standing). Jessie is the wife of the late diplomat and historian Marcial Lichauco. She can be a good source of oral history because, despite her age, her memory is still sharp!

Curiosity, adventure, love

When Jessie Lichauco, my grandmother, first came to the Philippines in 1933, she was 18 years old. The population of the country was 8 million, and many people still traveled in horse-drawn carriages.

She became the wife, and later the widow, of lawyer-diplomat Marcial P. Lichauco. Her life during the past 76 years has allowed Jessie to witness and interact with people, places and events that make up a large part of Philippine history. She has seen the country at its best and worst. And although she is part Irish-Scottish-Cuban-Spanish on the outside, her heart is unquestionably Filipino.

Why did she embark on that 28-day ship voyage from America to the Philippines? She has always answered, “Curiosity, adventure and love.”

Watching her celebrate with the people she has befriended since her life’s journey began 8 decades ago, there is no doubt she continues to live with those three ideals in mind. Age has never prevented her from engaging every adventurous moment life offers her.

Many people have asked her what the “secret recipe” is to living long and appearing so much younger than she is. The answer is less likely found in following a particular diet or health program (other than fresh buko juice daily, very little meat or chicken, and no coffee, alcohol or smoking) than on certain guidelines for living.

The secret is simply in the way she views the world and lives her life, which allows her to remain so actively involved in it.

“I am at the age of self-preservation,” my grandmother says. “I don’t worry about things over which I have no control.”

She points out that stress of any kind goes through your mind and can affect your body. “You always have a choice—to be a grouchy old person or take life as it comes. I often tell young people that having a sense of humor is very important. Sometimes you think things are insurmountable. There is nothing you can do but accept it and move forward.”

Click here for more.

Related link:
Down the River (WITH ONE’S PAST)

The Manny Villar zarzuela

This time, Villar gets the upper hand…

Villar shows up at Senate, denies raps, then leaves

Senator Manny Villar pulled off a surprise on Tuesday when he suddenly showed up at the Senate to deny the charges against him over the C-5 road project controversy.

But Villar, who stood up in the plenary and delivered a privilege speech, refused to entertain questions from his colleagues and left the session hall after his hour-long rhetoric.

“I stand before the Senate in defense of my name, my honor, my dignity against my accusers in the so called C-5 controversy. To set the record straight and to prove to the senator, who called me coward, na hindi ako duwag [that I am not a coward]. Wala pong duwag na taga-Tondo [No one from Tondo is a coward]!” he said in his speech.

Villar said he stood up to prove to everybody that he was neither a “coward” nor a “liar.”

“Mr. President, I was condemned without the benefit of a fair trial. Alam ko namang hindi ako titigilan. Yan ang dahilan, Mr. President, kaya ayaw kong sumali sa sarswelang ito na ikinubli sa tawag na imbestigasyon [I know that they won’t stop. This is the reason, Mr. President, why I don’t want to join this zarzuela that they call an investigation].”

Read more of the zarzuela at Inquirer.net!

Let us pray for miracles in Haiti

Two members of the Filipino peacekeeping troops attend to injured Haitian children in one of the makeshift clinics that United Nations rescue workers set up in Port-au-Prince. PHOTO COURTESY OF AFP PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS CENTER IN HAITI

Let us pray for more miracles and hope in calamity-stricken Haiti. And may our prayers be directed not only to our brother Filipinos out there — we should also pray for the well-being of all the victims in Haiti.

Haiti still needs assistance. A week after the catastrophic earthquake which took thousands of lives, hundreds more are dying everyday due to their injuries. And many more are still underneath the rubble, trying to stay alive. Miraculously, however, many trapped victims –including infants!– are still being pulled alive everyday.

Weary rescue teams from all over the world need more help than they can get. “The moment we stop fighting for each other, that’s the moment that we lose our humanity,” said Adrian Helmsley (portrayed by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the disaster film 2012. The earthquake which happened in Haiti more than a week ago should concern us all no matter how far that impoverished country is from us. We all live in the same planet. And we have no one else to count on but each other.

If financial assistance is unavailable, the least we can do is pray. And even now, it’s already working. =)

“Le” Cerge Remonde — I will survive?

UPDATE!

Arroyo press secretary being revived—Palace

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde has had a “major heart incident” and was being revived after he was found unconscious in his home Tuesday, a Palace official said in a radio interview.

“Nagkaroón pó ng major heart incident sa kanyáng pamamahay sa [There was a major heart incident in his house in] Makati. So he had been brought to the hospital at the Makati Medical where they are currently trying to revive him,” said deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar.

“As far as I know yun po ang latest news sa akin [that is the latest news to me]. He’s in the status of being revived. But obviously, the situation changes from one minute to the next so I will keep everyone posted,” Olivar added.

Press Secretary Remondo (who is at this very moment struggling to be alive) with the Arroyos (who are still alive).

For developments, visit Inquirer.net.

“Le” Cerge Remonde dies!

This just in…

Arroyo press secretary dies—report

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde during healthier days with the country's healthiest person alive.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde has died, according to a radio report.

The report quoted a friend of Remonde as saying that the cause of the Cabinet official’s death was not known.

Go to Inquirer.net for more updates!

Three pre-Christmas tragedies

Sadly, three tragedies hit the Philippines moments before Christmas day…

1.) Mayón Volcano has been terrorizing natives of Albay PHIVOLCS scientists for months. Thousands of families have already been evacuated from their homes to protect them from the volcano’s impending wrath. Now, PHIVOLCS declared that it’s only a matter of days –or even hours– before the World’s Most Perfect Cone displays its fiery power.

2.) Yesterday, more than 1,000 families from both cities of Pásay and Macati lost their homes from a monstrous flame. The blaze started at around 10 A.M. in a house on Bonifacio Street in Barangay Bangkal, Macati City, after its owner left an open stove unattended. This means that countless residents from the two mentioned cities might end up experiencing Christmas Eve without comfortable roofs above them.

3.) And just this morning, around 2:30 A.M., at least three people were killed and at least 24 others were still reportedly missing after a passenger ferry smashed into a fishing boat off the coast of Maragondón, Cavite.

Heartbreaking news indeed.

The year 2009 is overwhelmed with disasters, natural or manmade. The most memorable were the back-to-back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng which wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and much of Luzón. As the year is about to end, Filipinos are hoping for brighter days ahead.

True, there is no such thing as a perfect day. There is no perfect month. And each year, it’s impossible for tragedy not to strike. Be that as it may, Filipinos are already strengthened by the very tragedies that have smothered them. The Filipino race is a resilient and sturdy race. No amount of tragedy will ever bring us down.

Christmas cheer shall continue no matter what.

Mayón’s big blast is feared any time now as Christmas nears

Alert Level 5 is looming for Mayón Volcano:

“Parameters are high until now and the intensifying activity might force us to raise the alert level to its highest level but it would happen only when Mayón shoots a straight ash column containing pyroclastic materials and molten, burning rocks as big as houses or buses from its crater, accompanied by intense rumbling and jittering of the ground felt as far as this city,” said resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta. Inquirer.net

Literally speaking, it’s going to be one “bright and shiny” Christmas that no Bicolano would ever want to have.

Ready to rumble...

May everybody around Mayón Volcano be safe this Christmas Season…