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"Philippines"
This morning for the first time since the storm hit, which I clicked my link to Google News the story of Typhoon Haiyan (Yoland) was no longer at the top of the page, and in fact I had to click on “Philppines” to find the stories. Google News aggregates the news automatically and puts articles […]
The speech by Philippines delegate Yeb Sano to the Climate Change conference in Poland has gone viral, with nearly half a million views to date. Whether you’re Filipino, or just a friend of the Philippines, or just a sane human being — this should make you feel pride, and a sense of how we are […]
Post by Philippine Star. The Rumor of a Mass Prison Escape is Inaccurate
Eastern Samar jail prisoners DID NOT attempt any escape despite the typhoon damaging prison facilities. They are still in Jail and are not a factor in the security issues that have cropped up.
Just how big is the problem in the Philippines? How big is the need? Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) raked a huge swath across the center of the country. Tacloban was the biggest population center and was hit very hard and it is getting 90% of the attention in the international media, so much so that […]
In an attempt to help spread the word about the status in Eastern Samar, we are going to provide Eastern Samar updates daily for the coming days. These updates are current as of Nov 12 mid-day in the Philippines. As a rule, we are trying to find meaningful updates in social media that are not […]
Just saw on CNN that Anderson Cooper is now on the ground at the airport in Manila and reporting from there. (Actually more than reporting — he’s hosting two full hours a day of coverage from there.) He tried to get into Tacloban but they had to turn back to Manila because another tropical storm […]
LenDante Clarino shared this with me on Facebook, and I think it’s important to get this kind of unvarnished reality out there as the media moves on and starts covering other things. It came as a private message to Len with a request from the author to share. Everything the author says tracks with what […]
The youthful Mayor of Giporlos, Mark S. Biong left his devastated town at 10am Friday via motorcycle and after more than 8 hours (on a trip that normally takes two hours) was able to get through to Tacloban even though the coastal road is impassable to anything bigger than a motorcyle (see pictures). His trip […]
I often find myself wishing that my American friends could actually get a taste of the wonderful quirkiness of Filipino pop culture. Typhoon Yolanda has given us one sweet bit of buzz that I’ve got to share. It’s a situation that is developing around Atom Araullo, a reporter for ABS-CBN. The Fiipino spirit is on […]
At last a substantive report on Eastern Samar. The article quotes Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone as saying 200-300 died in one town, Hernani. I’ve made a map to show where all the towns referenced in the article are located — as well as where Lawaan, the municipality that includes Rena’s hometown of Guinob-an , […]
We finally gave up and went to bed at 2am, a full 36 hours after typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda barreled through the Leyte Gulf — and still not a word of the situation in Eastern Samar, Rena’s home province, where the typhoon first made landfall. This morning, up again at 6:30 to find that on some discussion […]
If you go to CNN and scroll to the comments after their main article on Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda you will see that the following comment by dudesk001 has been voted to the top and is starting to go a little viral is this one:
Time to get to the know the hardy Filipino people…unbelievably resilient, […]
To all our friends and family in the central Philippines and especially in Lawaan, Eastern Samar — we are REALLY thinking about you and praying for you as typhoon Haiyan (Philippine name “Yolanda”) approaches. Please be super-cautious and careful. CNN is saying that it is among the top 12 biggest and most destructive storms in […]
Rolfo “Julius” Dogillo will get to spend Christmas with his father in the Philippines — something he might not have been able to do if it hadn’t been for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and TakeCare Insurance Company.
Yesterday morning TakeCare donated $7,500 to fund 15-year-old Dogillo and his family’s trip to the Philippines where he […]
This is the kind of thing that is hard to understand from abroad, particularly in America where the institutions of government are given greater weight and value than the individuals occupying them. It bears watching.
MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday finally broke his silence amid the criticisms leveled against him and […]
Rummaging around the internet looking for Fil-Am war nuggets, I came across this interesting 8 minute video on American architect Daniel Burhnam, who was commissioned to design Baguio City as a “Hill Station” and summer capital for the Americans during the early colonial period, and whose name continues to be associated today with Baguio because […]
by Col. John E. Olson, USA (Ret.)
“Stand aside, the Scouts are coming.” These simple words contained in a poem written by an American officer in a Japanese POW camp shortly after the fall of Bataan reflect a sincere and respectful tribute to some of the finest soldiers ever to serve in the U.S. […]
A friend of the Philippines, Carol Merrill, alerted me to “Forgotten Soldiers”, a documentary about the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts, which will premiere in January 2012. This is a film that I hope fervently will be seen and gain an audience. For Producer/Director Donald Plata and writer Chris Schaefer it has clearly been a labor […]
Here is how the NY Times is reporting on the transfer of GMA to a military hospital
MANILA — The former president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was moved through heavy traffic and pounding rain to a government hospital Friday to await […]
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC 8: The Philippines emerging as the most-preferred destination for voice-based BPO destination is a wake-up call for the larger Indian BPO sector, says Mr V. K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group.
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) had declared recently that its call centre business had grown over 20 per cent […]
Growing up in America, December 7th was burned into my mind as the “day that will live in infamy”, as indeed it was. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a horrific blow on the United States that knew no equal until September 11, 2001. But the Philippines was part of the United States in 1941, […]
Manila Standard and Philboxing writing Ronnie Nathanielsz has taken steps to contain an upraor that ensued after Nathanielsz wrote an article in which he appeared to refer to Manny Pacquiao as the “former pound for pound king”. The article in question was about Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Glenn Tapia, who won his fight on the […]
Bloomberg’s William Psesek writes today about the Philippines and althoug his headline is a bit of a downer, the article overall has some good points. The headline? “Philippine Soap Opera is a Downer”. The soap opera being referenced, of course, is the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the ongoing struggle over her […]
I put this out there once before but I’m going to do it again because every time I read this I get pretty seriously cranky. This is a description of Manila from Gary Allen Poole’s biography “Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao”:
“…Manila, the decaying capital of the Philippines. It’s one of Southeast Asia’s […]
In Yahoo’s “Year in Review” data released today, Manny Pacquiao is number 3 on the list of “Most Searched Athletes”. Danica Patrick was number one; Tiger Woods was number 2. Following Manny were Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kris Humprhries, Hope Solo, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Caroline Wozniacki. Since this is an American poll, it’s […]
In an annual corruption survey carried out by the group Transparency International, the Philippines has moved up from 134 out of 183 countries rated last year, to 129th. In Asia, the Philippines ranked 25th out of 35. While the gains are modest, the trend is regarded as significant and reflects improved perceptions of the Philippines […]
Could it be that the fight that everyone wants to see is actually going to happen? After sounding less than certain about it a few days ago, Manny Pacquiao now sounds more confident that the fight will be made, saying there are only a few “little things” to sort out before he signs and the […]
This is one of the simplest and most ingenious ideas to come along in a long time. It’s caught the attention of the United Nations and others. Here is the article from AFP explaining Filipino entrepreneur Illac Diaz has figured out a way to used discarded soft drink bottles to light homes for free during […]
Bad news for the humble gecko, the nocturnal lizard that specializes in wall climbing and is considered good luck in the Philippines and elsewhere. The Washington Post is reporting that there is a booming trade in geckos and that the going black market rate in the Philippines for an 11 oz gecko lizard is $1,160 […]
It took him a couple of weeks to come out with it, but LA times boxing writer Lance Pugmire has written an excellent article on the dilemma of how to score a close boxing match such as the Pacquiao-Marquez III fight on November 12. Pugmire explores the difference in effect between watching a bout on […]
