happy birthday Asi!

Today, I thank the Lord for His magnificent goodness. For His unconditional love, I adore Him and praise His Holy Name. He loved me long before I learned to love Him. He made sure to take care of me and shower me with every good thing in life. Today I thank Him most especially, for giving me one of His most loving, most adorable and beautiful creation, to share the triumphs and trials of life. This day then, and thereafter, God has reserved for me someone named Paulette, to transform me to become better and bolder. And I am most grateful to the Lord for that. Happy birthday my dearest Asi!

A Journalist and Some Jerky Journalists

Business Mirror reporter Mia Gonzales was served an arrest warrant this morning for her allegedly libelous article written 2 years back in News Break Magazine about Miguel Arroyo. The six arresting officers who went inside the Press Working Area of the Malacañang Press Corps at the New Executive Building inside the Palace complex left empty handed as Ms. Gonzales was on sick leave. Talk about bobos. Out of the 42 journalists sued for libel by first gentleman Arroyo, Ms Gonzales should have been the last to receive her arrest warrant. Why? Here are my views.

Business Mirror, less than 2 years in publication, is owned by Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua, owner of DWIZ-AM, Fortune Care, Citystate Savings, Citystate Hotel, Eternal Gardens, Isuzu Gencars, the so-called flower group motels and many more business interests. Amb. Cabangon-Chua should have been pissed-off by the arrest of one of his reporters (or elated, what with the free publicities the paper got). A few years back, when I was still working with one of his companies, I remembered looking for sponsors for the First Gentleman's Cup held in Wack-Wack Golf Club, with our boss alledgedly doling out P.5M for the First Gentleman's Cup. Maybe some did not notice, but the fund raising was mentioned by the oppositions during the Jose Pidal controversy. Currently, no less than DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzales hosts one of the morning programs of DWIZ-AM, sort of a PR slot propagating the achievements of the Arroyo government. Now, do you also wonder why Mr. Ramon Tulfo's long running DWIZ program "Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo" was sacked? No, this is not a story of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours"-- this is pure political influence seemingly permeating to business decisions and vice-versa. In the above's case however, loopholes have to be plugged. How could his lackeys missed the connection? Oh I almost forget. Only blind leaders rule the blind. But blind and bobo were they who served the warrant. What then is their boss? You said it. Sue me, anyone?

Meanwhile, here are some future journalists the kind of Mike Arroyo might not be able to file libel with. Not ever. How could he, we are just a cutie jerky lot. Emman, Mark, Teejay, Tom, Dano, me and Camille on the first pic. Apple , ever camshy, joined us on the second shoot. Mucho's videoke bar wasn't much enough to hold the combined birthday party thrown by Tom, Camille and me. Scorpions , surprisingly, are gregarious!

And yes, we can also be obnoxious!

Ilonggo Indulgence

Kon kis-a napanumdum ko pano ayhan kon magsulat ako sa Hiligaynon diri? Baw ti damo gid guro indi ka intiende, luwas dulang kon kasimanwa ko gid mabasa, kapin pa kon karay-a. Pasensya dulang sa indi kamaan kay tulad daw gusto ko gid maghambal sa tumandok ko nga dila. Baw kabudlay man sagad panumdom kon magsulat sa Ingles kay ti kinanglan sakto gid grammar mo kag mga tinaga para mahangpan ka ka manugbasa mo, indi bala? Ti bahala sila ya subong eh. Basta ako ya gakatol tudlo ko magpitik keyboard nga Ilonggo ang tinaga gaguwa sa monitor ko.

Subong ti ari ko sa opisina, as usual sa conference room. Bag-o lang matapos meeting namon kag gahulat makadto sa Market Market sa The Fort para sa blood-letting event namon with Red Cross (basi mahambal sila waay ko ga-obra di). Indi ko na lang pagdetalye di ah, kay sensitive daan kumpanya namon sa mga tactical activities namon. Syado kagrabe ang kumpetisyon sa listeners kag advertisers. Para mabal-an nyo output ti pamati dulang kamo sa mga istasyon namon, kadto lang kamo di sa gin-obra ko nga website .

Ang mahambal ko lang, sako gid ako subong nga Nobyembre. Luwas sa pagdumdum sang kalag sang akon amay sang nagligad nga petsa uno kag dos (daw nakaduha ka misa gid ko to), amo man ni ang bulan sang akon pagkatawo, petsa otso, kag sang akon nobya, petsa biente siete. Sang lunes nag-enrol man ko sa UP, kag damo gid ko talapuson nga papers. Mga tunga-tunga sang bulan nga ni umpisa na ko pamakal regalo kag ticket pauli sa Pototan. Nahidlaw na ko sang balay namon, bisan waay pa matapos ang kisame kag mga palitada. Nahidalaw man ko magduaw sa Tatay ko kay waay gid ko ka puli sang Pista Minatay. Makilit-anay man kami sang mga hinablos ko nga mapuli man pagkatapos sang sobra apat ka tuig sa tate. Bakasyon lang sila kay gaeskwela pa, kag subong lang nila makit-an ang lolo nila nga gahamyang na sa patyo eh. So, ang gahulat sa ila kasadya kag kasubo man. Ang maayo lang mabaskog pa si lola nila kag sako ugtas sa duha nya ka apo sa balay. May isa pa ka 3-month old gahulat mag-entra sa gilinamo nila. Nami daad magpost pictures nila di pero for privacy reasons hasta diri na lang sila sa cellphone ko ah. Baw daw kalawig naman gali nasulat ko. Sige malakat na ko sa Fort.

Ti ikaw ya ano plano mo?