What is happening in two countries not far from us must be giving President Arroyo the chills. Last week, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra should be stripped of more than half of his contested $2.3 billion fortune. Earlier, in January, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the government to reopen cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, citing President Ferdinand Marcos and other heads of state who were taken to court to answer corruption charges. The Supreme Court asked the government to account for $600 million in Zardari’s bank accounts in Switzerland.
Continue ReadingIn a poor country where one out of every two people dies without receiving medical attention, 50 percent of the population do not have access to health care and 40 percent do not have access to essential medicine, trainings to equip ordinary citizens attend to the basic health needs of poor communities should be welcomed.
Continue ReadingMany Pinoys will spare no expense to have whiter skin. That’s why store shelves are flooded with whitening products—from soaps, creams, and powders. And, oh, who hasn’t heard of glutathione? To be white is to be beautiful. At least that’s what the ads tell us.
Continue ReadingAn impressive, almost awesome sight. Sprawling over a 400-hectare area facing Bagac Bay, Bataan, with its bracing sea breeze, are over 20 imposing ancestral homes, transplanted from their native soil, brought by brick by brick by trucks to this town (Bagac) known for its resorts, coded, reassembled, painstakingly reconstructed, and restored to their former splendor.
Continue ReadingIt used to be that the Philippines’ biggest competitive advantage in the global job market is the proficiency of our skilled workers in the English language. This advantage, however, is fast being eroded by rising competition from other countries coupled with declining mastery of the English language by our college graduates.
Continue ReadingTo say that Adonis Simpao is facing an uphill electoral battle is the understatement of the coming May election. His fellow cabalen – and the whole nation, for that matter – believe that the battle for the congressional seat in the second district of Pampanga is finished long before it began. Simpao is making history for battling an incumbent President in an electoral contest for a lower position that is unheard of in our history.
Continue ReadingWhether it be touring the city of Manila by boat on the Pasig River, or partaking in an exotic, culinary-themed tour of Pampanga, or engaging in more physically-oriented activities in typical relaxation areas such as Boracay, visitors are being offered a more adventurous, unique tourism experience.
Continue ReadingOnly two of the 12 prominent Ampatuans implicated in the November 23, 2009 massacre in Maguindanao are not running for any posts in this year’s elections: Datu Unsay mayor Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan, Jr., and ARMM governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan. Just as well, their wives and a daughter are running, records of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) show.
Continue ReadingAfter a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ My Prayer.
Continue ReadingOur hero is star-struck and, apparently, love-struck too. After bagging the CNN Hero of the Year (2009) award, Efren Peñaflorida finds himself in hot pursuit of a more stunning and elusive trophy. The object of his affections is the gorgeous and alluring actress Angel Locsin.
Continue Reading© 2010 Planet Philippines.
Website Setup By Nico Bailon For Buzzword Media