Some 890,000 sacks of NFA rice arrived recently from Vietnam. Did you know that those are products of Vietnamese farmers who learned how to plant rice in Los Banos, Phl?
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If you’re sick and your place is hit by a 14-hour (5 am to 7 pm) brownout, what would you do? Of course, nothing. Wait for the light to be back. It’s a sin to wish the power provider harm.
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That’s the length of time we didn’t have power in our place last Sunday, Aug. 17. I was sick and literally tired and too powerless to rise and shout “Bunooo!”
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Amid a flickering candlelight I tried to keep my sanity intact by reading some Tagalog tabloids. And I came across two headlines that kind of reduced my stress: “Totoy kinatay ng beki” and “Totoy kinagat ng aso.”
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In some exotic eateries in Manila they serve salads made of flowers like gumamela and sampaguita. Now the flowers on your plate can be eaten. Remember that joke about a barrio man who was seen scraping the flower design on his dinner plate? Now the flowers are for real.
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Here are some more “superlatives” from my friend and media colleague Loy Jurado: The deadliest weapon is the tongue: the ugliest personality trait is selfishness, the greatest asset is faith, the most endangered species are the dedicated leaders, the most dangerous neighbor is a gossiper. Thanks again, Loy, for helping me fill up my space today.
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Commenting on the news story about the thousands — or maybe millions — of Filipinos still homeless, Mrs. Caridad Alano of Mandaue City said in an e-mail message: “Billions and billions of pesos are spent on the construction of multistoried residential buildings but not a room for our homeless.”
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She asked: “Is it not possible for our lawmakers to pass a law requiring builders of multistoried condominiums and other buildings to build as prerequisite residential houses no matter how simple for our poor homless citizens?”
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Thank you, Mrs. Caridad Alano, for your e-mail. Yes, Ma’am, I will try to send a copy of our communication to Congress. Your concern for our homeless “kaigsuonan” should also be the concern of everyone who is in the position to help. Like the honorable lawmaker.
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OVERHEARD. People continue to talk about PNoy’s political agenda. What’s his agenda? One observer said: “pulos lang tag-an tag-an unsay plano ni PNoy. Way klaro.” Said another kibitzer: “Gipaminaw pa ni PNoy ang huyop sa hangin. Another observer: “Ampo lang ta nga way dautan nga hangin ang mosud sa ulo ni Noy.”