General Info

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1696813]The transcendent indifference is particularly poignant in light of an "Inquirer" article today, which cites government statistics to show that the incidence of poverty in the Visayan regions most affected by Typhoon Yolanda has grown significantly since the disaster, and is now in excess of fifty percent.

GE.[/QUOTE]I read that and was interesting but the government will say that it increased because of Yolanda so that is not a fair comparison and / or blame Arroyo or another opposition politician. If I remember the local politicians there are aligned to Arroyo and were accused of not helping to deliberately cause the government grief.

Whatever, the 50% figure is no surprise and am sure the general level of poverty in the country remains unchanged or is growing because this is factored into the averages. A president voted in because of his mom and dad is IMHO never a good one but this is Philippines (a good Indian friend said the country was just like his, families, corruption, poverty etc).

[QUOTE=Dg8787;1696619]We have heard many stories about the handful of rich families wanting to make more money and bigger deals. Has anyone heard of just one story where they have helped or donated some relief goods or money for any calamity victims?[/QUOTE]After Typhoon Yolanda I did volunteer work (OPLAN HATID) at Villamor Air Base in Pasay for many days, so I saw their activities firsthand. Survivors were flown in by the Philippines and US Air Forces. After being received by gov't DSWD officials and briefed the survivors were released to the volunteers. Smart and Globe set up free call booths. Several food and beverage companies were handing out their stuff. SM had a mobile health clinic truck there, and it had the only x-ray device onsite. My friend who works for SM told me that the Sy family donated money and materials. Other than flying in survivors, flying out relief supplies, and maintaining the site's hygiene and traffic the military did not much else. Being on an air force base (the PAF HQ) I expected to see all kinds of military involvement from medics to canteens to ground transport; this was certainly not the case as it was done by civilian and corporate volunteers.

[URL]http://philnews.ph/2013/11/17/henry-sy-lucio-tan-leads-richest-filipinos-donation-yolanda-victims/[/URL]

More may have been donated. I recall reading land was donated and homes built by philanthropists.

The point of this post is to neither praise nor condemn but simply state that yes, the oligarchs did donate. Whether it was sufficient or not is up to you to judge.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1697020]After Typhoon Yolanda I did volunteer work (OPLAN HATID) at Villamor Air Base in Pasay for many days, so I saw their activities firsthand. Survivors were flown in by the Philippines and US Air Forces. After being received by gov't DSWD officials and briefed the survivors were released to the volunteers. Smart and Globe set up free call booths. Several food and beverage companies were handing out their stuff. SM had a mobile health clinic truck there, and it had the only x-ray device onsite. My friend who works for SM told me that the Sy family donated money and materials. Other than flying in survivors, flying out relief supplies, and maintaining the site's hygiene and traffic the military did not much else. Being on an air force base (the PAF HQ) I expected to see all kinds of military involvement from medics to canteens to ground transport; this was certainly not the case as it was done by civilian and corporate volunteers.

[URL]http://philnews.ph/2013/11/17/henry-sy-lucio-tan-leads-richest-filipinos-donation-yolanda-victims/[/URL]

More may have been donated. I recall reading land was donated and homes built by philanthropists.

The point of this post is to neither praise nor condemn but simply state that yes, the oligarchs did donate. Whether it was sufficient or not is up to you to judge.[/QUOTE]Thanks for your report. It sheds some light on this. I will keep my judgement to myself.

[QUOTE=WickedRoger;1696925]I read that and was interesting but the government will say that it increased because of Yolanda so that is not a fair comparison and / or blame Arroyo or another opposition politician. If I remember the local politicians there are aligned to Arroyo and were accused of not helping to deliberately cause the government grief.

Whatever, the 50% figure is no surprise and am sure the general level of poverty in the country remains unchanged or is growing because this is factored into the averages. A president voted in because of his mom and dad is IMHO never a good one but this is Philippines (a good Indian friend said the country was just like his, families, corruption, poverty etc).[/QUOTE]That Cory was any better is debatable.

And. This personal blog of Aquino Sr will put in place, how detached they were, from the common man.

[URL]https://anywhereiwander.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/memoir-blog-24-ninoy-aquino-the-boy-wonder-of-tarlac/[/URL]

P.S. after his exile, Ninoy wrote that the incarceration made his believe in God. Etc. Etc. More selling points. Though the family is fervently sticking on to their Hacienda with no plan to let go of it.

Plus, during Cory's time how much of Marcos cronies were simply replaced by Cory's. Beggars belief!

Article from the Inquirer made for a good read but not sure what is more alarming. The number od confirmed cases each day, the government's inaction and / or some of the comments which could be deemed Neanderthal by many.

[URL]http://opinion.inquirer.net/83707/life-and-death-issue-2[/URL]

[QUOTE=WickedRoger;1700508]Article from the Inquirer made for a good read but not sure what is more alarming. The number od confirmed cases each day, the government's inaction and / or some of the comments which could be deemed Neanderthal by many.

[URL]http://opinion.inquirer.net/83707/life-and-death-issue-2[/URL][/QUOTE]Unfortunately, with same-sex union among men being rampant, and officially not existent (including the president himself being hinted as a closet homo). Not going to stop it.

In fact, about 7 out of 10 Filipino hot hunks I bumped into, through my Filipino friends, were openly or tacitly gays!

And the male members of Filipino bands playing in Singapore are very hooked on online dating of other men, so much so, one guy had a 'friend' fly over all the way from Japan, just to have a date and spend time with the male singer.

Found this interesting:

[URL]http://www.mb.com.ph/mandatory-sim-card-registration-bill-nears-passage/[/URL]

Have to wait and see if it gets implemented (lot of resistance by the telco's) and if activation by the retailer is also required or just registration. Easy enough to get around it though, just have one of my GF's use one of her false eye dees's to get new SIM's.

I just had a heads-up from a friend in Oz who visited here a few weeks ago. He is a staff member in a Dept of Chemistry at an Aust. University.

I took him for a look-see at Burgos St in Makati and we were pestered by the usual touts wanting us to buy V and Cialis etc.

I told him that the pills were "knock-off" and their country of origin was uncertain (maybe India; maybe local).

His academic instincts kicked in and he bought a box and said he would run a few simple tests on them to see what turned up.

He contacted me today. Each pill in his sample tested positively for traces of cyanide (which is quite common in nature); he also found traces of the break-down products of ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and traces of warfarin (commonly used in rat poison).

He said that he could not tell how much of each foreign compound was present other than the fact that they showed a trace of being present, but he was concerned that there didn't appear to be any quality control since each pill seemed to show different response levels. Note that his test was a simple "present or not" test and not a rigorously controlled clinical analysis.

His conclusion was that a few pills here and there may not do much damage but over a longer time the concentration might build up, particularly cyanide (remember all those murder mysteries you read about spouses being steadily poisoned).

So be careful guys if you're one of those who regularly ingests pills off the street. Personally I have NEVER bought them so I have never taken them.

There is now generic sildenifil available from Mercury Drug or Watsons in Manila (I don't know about AC).

The brand is Rite Med. One box of 5 x 100 mgm tabs is 770 php. For most guys that means 10 doses of 50 mgm at 77 php per half pill (and they have a convenient groove in the middle so you can easily break them). No prescription needed. Just ask for a box of generic sildenifil.

[QUOTE=PipJaeger;1701060]Found this interesting:

[URL]http://www.mb.com.ph/mandatory-sim-card-registration-bill-nears-passage/[/URL]

Have to wait and see if it gets implemented (lot of resistance by the telco's) and if activation by the retailer is also required or just registration. Easy enough to get around it though, just have one of my GF's use one of her false eye dees's to get new SIM's.[/QUOTE]99.9% it won't happen, as the two dominant telcos are owned by the two biggest families, who in turn, fund politicians and all.

Firstly, they need to implement a National ID, which won't happen, lest the crooks get caught.

Forget about SIM Cards.

P.S., in Singapore, where SIM card registration is compulsory, there are still some dubious characters who re-sell registered SIMs, I. E. Registered to foreigners who left, not a small premium. You think the Smart Filipinos won't find a large loophole?

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1701264]

His academic instincts kicked in and he bought a box and said he would run a few simple tests on them to see what turned up.

He contacted me today. Each pill in his sample tested positively for traces of cyanide (which is quite common in nature); he also found traces of the break-down products of ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and traces of warfarin (commonly used in rat poison).[/QUOTE]Interesting RK, thanks to your friend, but what you neglected to mention (your Alzhiemer's kicking in again? lol) was if he told you whether there was actually any Sildenafil (or Tadalafil if he also tested vitamin C) in the pills.

Likely to be another of the 9 or so cyclones that hit PI every year. It is currently a 'Super Typhoon' category storm. and will be named Chedeng by the PI once it reaches their territory.

Let's hope that it does not make landfall, and that it weakens even more than predicted.

Forewarned is forearmed!

Ikks

[QUOTE=PipJaeger;1701464]Interesting RK, thanks to your friend, but what you neglected to mention (your Alzhiemer's kicking in again? lol) was if he told you whether there was actually any Sildenafil (or Tadalafil if he also tested vitamin C) in the pills.[/QUOTE]Yes PJ I was more worried about the uncontrolled level of impurities in the pills rather than to remember to report on the active ingredients.

There were also indications of Tadalafil in the 4 pills he tested.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1701521]Yes PJ I was more worried about the uncontrolled level of impurities in the pills rather than to remember to report on the active ingredients.

There were also indications of Tadalafil in the 4 pills he tested.[/QUOTE]Thanks RK. You've done us all a service. I think the number of the viagra / cialis hawkers has increased recently so maybe this reflects an expanding market. I admit that I've tried the stuff, but not for a long while and I'll never buy it on the street again.

GE.

I am moving to the Philippines and need a place in Cebu (Choice #2 Manila). I need a place shorter term, without massive deposits and with wired Internet, until I can find a more permanent place once I get there. I have covered Airbnb and other sites but really haven't found anything. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks.

[QUOTE=PirateMorgan;1701958]I am moving to the Philippines and need a place in Cebu (Choice #2 Manila). I need a place shorter term, without massive deposits and with wired Internet, until I can find a more permanent place once I get there. I have covered Airbnb and other sites but really haven't found anything. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks.[/QUOTE]PM: This is a (small) chastisement. About September of last year, you go into a bit of a snit with Amavida:

AV: [I]I stand by my advice, come here & get the lay of the land if you are considering a move here.
Cheers mate, AV.[/I].

PM: [I]Then it's a good thing I am rich. Your comments are idiotic. I now give up on the quest.[B] Just wanted simple info. Not opinions[/B].[/I].

That last boldfaced bit is what separates the phils threads from the rest: its a no-no.

Your contributions to the central America threads over the last several years are good. But just like before, you don't have much in the way of any quality informative Field Reports from phils. It appears you have traveled there before, therefore: Where are your reports? You are taking from the Board without giving. Please file a descriptive FR from your time here in the past before asking questions.

I will PM you with some Internet info.