Manny Villar & his Vision for OFWs
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 21, 2009
Last December 17, BlogWatch started its presidential roundtable discussion and it so happened that Billionaire and the Nacionalista Party candidate Manny Villar was the first to meet with us.
To be honest, I had my reservations about Mr. Villar. I formed my opinion based on what I saw on Traditional Media and how they portrayed him. Things like he’s just another politician who wants power and his choice of Vice President, well, let’s just say, that didn’t help improve the impression I had of him. Then there was his appearance at Wowowee that somehow re-enforced the idea in my mind that Manny Villar was another showbiz politician positioning himself as poor so he could get votes from the masses.
Each BlogWatch writer was given a chance to ask Senator Villar one question. So what was the question that I decided to ask Manny Villar about?
Remember this infomercial?
Since Manny Villar is known for helping Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), I had to ask if he became President, what will he do if a country goes into default (or something like what happened with Dubai) and OFWs will be sent back to the Philippines, what are his contingency measures?
Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.
References:
- Videos – http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=33B78660BAAA600F
- Pictures – http://www.flickr.com/photos/rochellesychua/sets/72157623021838894/
How to Deal with MMDA Traffic Enforcers
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 20, 2009
As I was cleaning up my email inbox, I found an almost 3-year old mail regarding MMDA. I realized that why should I keep those tips to myself? So here I am, sharing with you the details plus some more important information about the topic. So how do you deal with Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic enforcers?
Don’t you find it sad that in our country (Philippines) the police, the MMDA, government officials in uniform often abuse their powers? This is noticeable especially in the streets when they enforce traffic rules and regulations.
The good news is there are guidelines that can help us with it. We need to be informed so that we won’t be victimized by some abusive traffic enforcers. This is applicable to MMDA but I guess we can use the information for Makati City police officers or any other city who doesn’t recognize MMDA as their traffic authority (they might have a different guideline altogether, so be warned! There’s a reason why they don’t recognize MMDA).
Here the guidelines shared by Audee (through the Entrepreneurs yahoo mailing list) based on her conversation with MMDA personnel Antonio Pagulayan last 2007:
- MMDA officers are not allowed to group together in order to apprehend. They are not even allowed to stand together in groups of 2 or more. The only time they are allowed to work together is for special operations (probably when they apprehend groups of buses for smoke belching).
- Swerving IS NOT a traffic violation. Moving one lane to the left or right is not swerving, no matter where on the road you do it. And it is even less of a violation when you do it with a signal. Swerving is defined as shifting 2 or more lanes very quickly. So you can argue your way out of this, and call the Metro Base for help.
- Using the yellow lane is a traffic violation and will get you a ticket. However, buses are really not allowed to go out of the yellow lane, so if you see selective apprehension of private cars only, you may complain.
- MMDA has confirmed that your license MAY NOT BE CONFISCATED at a traffic apprehension. The only time they can do so is if you are part of an accident, or it is your third violation and you have not settled your fines yet. They are only allowed to give you a ticket, which you can contest. He recommends actually receiving the ticket in some instances, so that you can report the officer who did it.
- Also, you are free to ask any of these officers for their “mission order”, which is written by their supervisor. If they apprehend you for a violation that is not in their mission order for the day, you can report them and they will receive disciplinary action.
So guys & gals, if you experience such abuses, I suggest you call MMDA hotline: 136 and ask for assistance. What will happen is that the MMDA will send inspectors to where you are arguing out of your apprehension with an MMDA enforcer. Hopefully, they can prevent extortion.
Do click this link for the list of Traffic Violations and Fines/Penalties for your information. Hope this helps. Be informed and fight for your rights!
Avatar Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 19, 2009
Watching James Cameron’s Avatar in IMAX was one of the best decisions my colleagues made. I was just so glad I was able to join them as Avatar is the best full 3D movie I have watched so far!
It’s like all of James Cameron’s knowledge when it comes to science fiction & technology was put into the movie, Avatar. I can’t think of anything else they can improve on to make the movie better. It’s perfect as it is for me. Besides, my golly it’s in full 3D!
I actually feel that watching a whole movie in 3D can make you feel dizzy as I felt it a bit when I watched Battle of Terra before. With Avatar, I totally dismiss the dizzy part as the movie is superb! I mean it’s just full of awesomeness! You all SHOULD really catch this on 3D theaters, if not, then you are truly missing BIG time!
Avatar started when humans were colonizing Pandora, a moon. The humans are there because they want to mine a little gray rock worth 20 million a kilo. The problem is the blue skinned Na’vi who are indigenous beings living on Pandora, have their village on the largest deposit. What we know at the start of the movie, the Na’vi had been living harmoniously with their environment but humans couldn’t breathe the Pandoran air. Human scientists were able to genetically engineer human-Na’vi hybridizing. They call them avatars so humans can use these avatars to be able to visit the world.
Avatar is the classic story of the strong preying on the weak and it is up to a few good men and women to fight for something they believe in.
I will not share the whole story coz I don’t wanna spoil it. I suggest you watch this in 3D theaters, even though it is a bit more expensive. Don’t watch it in 2D, believe me, watching it in 3D is well worth every cent.
I can really say that Avatar is an amazing movie. The characters were very believable. The music was perfect. the action scenes and the casting were flawless. I highly recommend that you go watch this movie! It is ssssoooo good!
My rating for Avatar: 5 out of 5 stars.
Ninja Assassin Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 19, 2009
After waiting for 2 weeks, I finally found time to watch Ninja Assassin. I’ve been hearing mixed reviews about it. Oh well, at least now I can judge for myself if the movie is good or not.
The story of Ninja Assassin is about Raizo, an orphan who was raised by the Ozunu clan and who is one of the world’s deadliest Ninja Assassin. I found this story to be ordinary because haven’t we seen a variation on that kind of story all the time? Then there was the female lead’s acting and her character’s boss’s acting. Both I think were weak.
When I think about it, the character Raizo, who was portrayed by actor Rain is one of the major reasons why the movie is watched by many people. In my humble opinion, Rain being there is a saving grace for the movie.
The movie is not for the weak at heart. For one thing, i found it to be too gross!! There was too much blood all over the movie! There was even a scene where Raizo killed a ninja and put her dead body inside a washing machine. The blood ended up flowing freely…. yeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!!
There are actually some lessons hidden behind all the bloody awesome ninja action scenes. For one thing, we women really are the most powerful gender in the world. That’s mainly because men will do anything for the woman they love hehehe 😛
The other lesson, I wanna leave with you while I finish this review. No one can ever stop us from sticking to our own beliefs & principles even if we don’t have anyone to support us with it. As long as we know that it is right, then please don’t let majority stop you from doing the right thing.
My rating for Ninja Assassin: 2 out of 5 stars.
Sarap at Home
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On December 18, 2009
There’s a new TV show in town called “Sarap at Home” which stars Sam Oh and Chef Nino Logarta. “Sarap at Home” is different from other cooking shows in that it is like a sitcom. It presents the lives of 2 friends and neighbors.
In every episode, 2 friends encounter a dilemma. They end up cooking a delicious & easy-to-prepare dish that compliment the situation perfectly. Various celebrities are invited to appear in each episode as well.
I’m glad that I was able to attend “Sarap at Home” press launch yesterday. I was able to meet the people behind the show and ofcourse, the hosts, Sam Oh & Chef Nino.
“Sarap at Home” features Chef Nino creating recipes using San Marino Corned Tuna. Other CDO products are going to be featured as well like CDO Liver Spread, CDO Mayo & CDO Hams.
During the press launch, Chef Nino and Sam showed us how to make San Marino Chili Corned Tuna Dinamita w/ Guapa dipping Sauce. At first, I asked where the tuna was then found out after biting that it was inside the green chili 😛 I can tell you this: it was delicious and it was not spicy at all.
Here’s the recipe & it’s very easy to follow as the ingredients are mostly items that we have in our pantry. In my previous post, you can find more San Marino Corned Tuna recipes. I hope you enjoy them.
San Marino Chili Corned Tuna Dinamita w/ Guava Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
8-10 pieces green chilis
1 can San Marino Spicy Corned Tuna
1 cup grated cheese
1 plum tomato diced
1/3 red onion diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
8-10 large wanton wrappers
1/2 cup guava jelly
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup water
oil for deep frying
Procedures:
- Slit the chilis lengthwise & take out all the seed inside.
- Mix the San Marino Corned Tuna with tomatoes, onions & cilantro & a lil cheese as a binder.
- Stuff tuna mixture into chilis & add more cheese into slit opening.
- Wrap chilis in wonton wrappers & deep fry until golden brown.
- Season w/ salt once taken out of jail.
- For dip, dilute guava jelly w/ lemon juice & water & simmer until incorporated.
- Garnish dish w/ additional cilantro leaves.
Pictures from the Sarap at Home Press Launch can be found here.
Sarap at Home airs weekdays at 10:50AM, 6:20PM & 9:20PM, saturdays at 2:10PM, 5:50PM & 7:50PM & sundays at 2:10PM, 5:50PM & 9:20PM on QTV Channel 11.