[Pink Scene] 10th White Party Manila Postponed

For those who haven't already heard, the 10th annual White Party Manila has been postponed at this time due to the weather and the continued flooding in many parts of Metro Manila. I've included the official announcement below:



There is no news about when it will be rescheduled for, but many of the bars have mentioned that they will still be open tonight. As soon I as find about the new date of the event, I'll be sure to post an update.

Still, Happy Pride everyone!

[Philippines] Typhoon Ondoy Relief Efforts

The Philippines is no stranger to storms and typhoons - we're pretty much directly in the path of many of them and dealing with such weather phenomenons has shaped our culture and way of living. It's probably helped drive our strong sense of fatalism when it comes to such things along with the rise of the Catholic Church in this country.

That doesn't mean that the storms don't hit us hard or that we're immune to them. Each typhoon is unique in its effects whether it lasts for days on end or perhaps it brings fierce winds. This weekend the country was hit by what is locally known as Typhoon Ondoy and it brought the equivalent of a month's worth of rain within the span of 24 hours. Thus there was massive flooding all over the city and other parts of the country that has cost people their homes, their belongings and even their lives.

Google has set up a great page for information about the typhoon, where you can help out and where you can send relief goods and money. You can view that page here: Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines.

If you're in the country, please make the effort to help out some how. There are many relief centers based in major schools, government offices or other such locations as mentioned in the aforementioned link. You can send your donations there or you can try checking with your local school or your office and ask about how you can help.

If you're not the country, help coordinate relief efforts or send donations using the links mentioned in the link above. Even celebrities like Neil Gaiman are asking for aid and support via Twitter and other such sites, which has been quite heartwarming in these troubled times.

I'm thankful for the strength of the human spirit and how amazing it is in terms of how the country has pulled together to help out. At the same time, my thoughts go out to all those in need and more so to those who lost their lives in this tragedy.

[Philippines] News of Interest 07.07.08

Well, I've been going over the local news again and still we're stuck with some pretty annoying items here and there. Sometimes we get stuck in very strange places.

Pretty much everything these days are revolving around either the recent ferry disaster involving the MV Princess of the Stars or ever-rising prices for gas and other commodities.

BMI asks 1 week more for ferry disaster probe

Image via WikipediaAs is typical of the Philippine government, Congress has decided to conduct their own hearings into the Sulpicio Lines ferry disaster. It's a wonder that we get any actual legislative work done with all the special hearings, blue ribbon committees and whatnot. We all know nothing will really come of it and it's just a way for them to get their names attached to the initiative for future election propaganda fodder. Ugh.

What's worse is that Congress is also ganging up on PAGASA, our weather bureau, about the Doppler radar equipment they should have had in place by now. Sometimes they forget just how stringent the bidding and selection process can be on paper but of course in the end such processes can be greased as needed.

Sulpicio asks court to stop BMI probe on ferry disaster

Of course with all this going on in terms of the post-Frank investigations, Sulpicio lines is getting pretty desperate and have already filed a lawsuit against PAGASA. Now they're trying to get a TRO on the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) since they're also suing them. I mean really, is this is how they plan on ending all of this? Somehow trying to finish off with guns blazing and such?

Catholic bishops seek review of oil deregulation law, EVAT

The headline alone should be enough to make you cringe - what place do priests have in terms of evaluating government policies, practices and procedures, especially when it comes to the economy and gas prices? We expect the same group that tries to manage our spriritual development be allowed to cross past their coverage, involve themselves (as always) in politics and dictate / influence economic policy? These are the same people who don't endorse birth control as a way of managing population size since it's against their beliefs.

Why can't the priests and bishops just stay in their churches and limit themselves accordingly to their core functions and responsibilities?

[Metro] Why Does Makati Flood So Easily?

flood10110709 by sobergeorge.

It rained early this morning before the end of my shift. As is always the way with any prolonged period of rain, Makati started to flood.

You know what I mean - the areas around Buendia like all those side streets and such seem to be designed to sit lower than the rest of the area and thus naturally collect water. The build-up of rainwater eventually spreads, affecting all other adjacent areas until the murky water already makes traversing nearby streets like Pasong Tamo next to impassable on foot.

If Makati is meant to be the premiere center of business and commerce in the city, the supposed financial capital of the country based on the labels of some, then why cant we even get the water to drain off as its supposed to? What's wrong with you Makati? This is getting embarrassing!

The flooding is worst starting on the side of South Super where the trains pass - the place instantly turns into a swimming pool of filth after an hour of so of steady rain. Despite how grand we claim the city to be, at the end of the day stupid city problems like this just go on further to highlight how third world we can be at times.

It's not like the entire greater Metro Manila area is affected by the same issues! There are just key areas of Makati - surrounding a National Road no less - that just can't seem to get their act together. Just add a little water then *poof* - fetid-smelling swimming pool!

My only consolation was that I was on my way home when the flooding was getting bad and not on my wait to work. My trek down the streets had my slacks drinking up rain water as I trudged through the steady rain, adding to my misery and discomfort. Oh joy.

Why don't you do something about this, Makati? Why can't you solve this stupid problem that's been going on for years! This isn't about jurisdiction over Buendia - this is about addressing the basic needs of those who live in the flooded areas, those citizens whose houses and condominiums turn into islands amidst the flood waters time and time again.

Want to prove you're really all that Makati? Then fix the flooding issue around Buendia!

[Philippines] Of Typhoons and Billboards

The few times the Philippines, my country, makes it to international news headlines, it normally has to involves natural disasters or political instability. What can a guy do, right? It is a third world country after all in Southeast Asia so storms and typhoons are inevitable along with political strife, coup attempts and pocket revolutions. All that and beauty pageants to boot!

Well, Typhoon Milenyo (international name: Xangsane) has put the Philippines on the world news map, in a manner of speaking, with a reported death toll ranging from 16-28 depending on what report you end up reading. Yes, this country can't even generate a consistent death toll report. Each government department seems to have its own opinion on just how many people are dead, missing or whatever.

Most of the northern island of Luzon remains to be in darkness as a number of power lines remain down - something that makes me hope that this will urge the government to push for underground power lines in the future.



Typhoons like Milenyo always revive discussions about the nature of billboards within the metropolis. Often times they are reported as a hazard to motorists for a variety of reasons such as distracting drivers or getting blown over during typhoons. This is far from the first time this has been considered.

To be fair to the government, the MMDA has previously attempted to get these billboards removed to little avail, meeting resistance from local advertising groups and even the Supreme Court to no avail. Personally, I feel very strongly against the large hazards and hope that this recent storm and the many affected by blown-over billboards might get people to realize the risks we face with them dominating the city skyline and in turn take action.

Then again, money talks more than large scale disasters too, as loathe as we are to admit it at times, and I doubt anything significant will change in time for the next major tropical depression that is bound to hit the country.

Note: Kudos to INQ7.net for using Google as its search engine. It made writing this article a lot easier on the research side.