Outstanding Ilonggo's named Pinoy Icons

 TWELVE outstanding Ilonggos who have valuable contributions to their community were cited as Pinoy Icons in a fitting ceremony on Saturday.
The awarding rites were held at the SM City Iloilo in time for the country's 112th Independence Day celebration. It was spearheaded by Jaycees International, SM City Iloilo and ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network.

Here are the 12 awardees:
Teresa Magbanua award for women’s and children’s rights was given to Sonia F. Cadornigara, a slum upgrading and urban poor champion who fought for the right to a decent home for the poor and the homeless and supporting the rights of women and children. Through her efforts, land had been acquired and houses built for thousands of the urban poor in Iloilo City.
Francisco Baltazar award for literature went to Professor Alicia Tan-Gonzales of the University of the Philippines Visayas. She is a fictionist, poet and playwright in Hiligaynon, the Ilonggo dialect. She also won several Palanca Literary Awards for Hiligaynon short story.
General Martin Delgado award for military service was given to 1Lieutent Reylan P. Java of the Philippine Army who was responsible for the capture of an rebel camp and a landmine kitchen in Igbaras, Iloilo, as well as successive encounters that led to the reduction of rebel activities in their area of responsibility.
Juan Luna award for visual arts went to Timoteo J. Jumayao who was the founding member of the annual Carabao-Carroza Festival of Pavia, Iloilo. A fine Arts graduate of the University of Sto. Tomas, his most valuable contributions to the Ilonggo art and culture are the “Oton Saga” historical mural relief at the Oton Plaza and the Iloilo Heritage mural relief depicting various epochs in Iloilo’s cultural revolution at the old airport in Mandurriao district.
Melchora Aquino award for civic works award went to newly elected Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog who for years, sponsored monthly civic projects and programs, which enhance the educational, economic, health and professional lives of the people in Iloilo City. Selected as one of the 10 Outstanding Councilors of the Philippines in 2007, Mabilog continues to reap awards and recognition for his civic works and achievements as City Government official.
Emilio Aguinaldo award for government service went to Oton Vice Mayor Jose Neil P. Olivares who had led the Municipal Council of Oton, Iloilo in winning the National Local Legislative Award. He is not just a legislator but also a historian, cultural worker and arts enthusiast who transformed his own house into a museum of archives called “Balay Ogtong”.
Gomburza award for religious service went to Reverend Msgr. Meliton B. Oso who successfully initiated and facilitated the construction of housing projects for church workers and established several Botika sa Parokya, which extensively helped the needy. He also facilitated educational scholarship to children of poor families and conducted researches on technology of organic farming that benefited more than 3,000 farmers in Iloilo.
Julian Felipe award for music went to Virgilio “Pirot” G. Petcheller who has made a mar through his novelty songs and composition depicting Ilonggo daily life experiences with just a guitar as accompaniment. An enduring household name in Iloilo, Pirot has promoted appreciation of novelty music among the Ilonggos and written more than 100 songs to inspire the Ilonggos.
Jose Rizal award for medicine went to Dr. Manuel J. Posecion for giving medical consultations and free medicines to various communities in Iloilo. The first Filipino Fellow in Child Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, USA. Posecion was also the Most Outstanding Physician of the Iloilo Medical society in 1997.
Panday Pira award for Science and Technology Award was given to Dr. Jurgene H. Primavera for her researches and extensive work on prawn culture techniques and mangrove conservation, which helped local communities improve their economy. Through the years, Primavera has planted mangroves for coastal rehabilitation and advocated sustainable aquaculture.
Graciano Lopez Jaena award for media went to lawyer Rex Salvilla, who was considered as the "darling of the press" for having won more than 90 cases of libel against journalists pro bono and has written more than 300 articles on history and culture published in newspapers since 1973. A media practitioner and lawyer, he co-authored Press Freedom and the Risk of Libel published by the Philippine Press Institute for the use of mediamen in the entire country.
Apolinario Mabini award for education went to Dr. Ma. Helena Desiree Matulac-Terre, for introducing countless innovations in the teaching paradigms as well as effective educational management in the Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus in Iloilo City. In 2004, she was a national awardee of Gintong Ilawan: The Teodora Alonso Educator’s Award and also, one of Women Icons 2005 published in Women’s Journal.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

Another MTV Kiss Award for Bullock

Sandra Bullock (looking amazing) made her second appearance in as many days to pick up the Generation Award at the MTV Movie Awards, during which she locked lips with Scarlett Johansson.
Johansson, along with Bullock's former costars Betty White and Bradley Cooper, presented Bullock with her award. Johansson's husband Ryan Reynolds, who couldn't be there, was nominated with Bullock for Best Kiss. They lost, but Scarlett wanted a shot at a sweet kiss of her own.

WATCH:

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at MTV.com!

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

Another Bad Name for California ; Carly Fiorina

We're so lucky in California to have two wealthy women running for political office in our upcoming primary. Who says we haven't come a long way, baby?
But while I'm a big fan of eBay, the candidate I want to focus on is Carly Fiorina, who wants to be our next female senator and promises to bring jobs, jobs, jobs to our beleaguered state. As opposed to that liberal do-nothing Barbara Boxer.
Let's review her credentials. Fiorina is perhaps best known for running Hewlett-Packard into the ground when she was CEO, a feat she achieved by laying off thousands of employees, shipping jobs overseas, pushing an ill-advised merger with Compaq, trashing the stock price, and generally destroying HP's famously mellow culture. For this she got sacked in 2005 in a unanimous and highly publicized vote by HP's board.
Understandably it's still a touchy topic. After a Tea Party rally in Pleasanton, CA, in April, Fiorina snapped at some reporters when, instead of asking her about the wonderful response she got from the crowd, they asked her about the recent federal probe into HP's murky business dealings with Russia when she led the company. And another about HP's relations with Iran. Talk about a downer!
All of which raises a question: with California's economy in tatters, a $19 billion deficit, unemployment at a staggering 12.5 percent, do we really need a failed CEO with a chip on her shoulder representing us in Washington? Someone who was widely reviled for axing jobs rather than creating them?
I hate to bring this up, but it's not like Fiorina has been an avid citizen or particularly excited about government, either. (Unless you count that auspicious period in 2008, when she was one of John McCain's economic advisers and got in trouble for saying he couldn't run a company.)
As Connie Bruck wrote in The New Yorker of Fiorina's record,"she has failed to vote in two-thirds of local, state and national elections since 2000, including gubernatorial elections and Presidential primaries."
I know teenagers who have better voting records than that.
Call me picky, but it also seems a stretch to call yourself a populist, as Fiorina has done every chance she gets, when you walked away from your last job with $21 million in severance, have a yacht, a mansion, a condo in Georgetown, and have been able to funnel at least $5.5 million of your personal fortune into a Senate race. But let's not dwell on the obvious.
Aside from the lack of interest problem, the conservative Republican also seems to think she's running in Texas or South Carolina, and has been proudly touting her endorsements from everyone from anti-choice groups to the NRA to Sarah Palin. (Who in her typical oblivious fashion got her facts about Fiorina's "humble beginnings" wrong, saying her dad was a school teacher. He was a law professor and later a federal judge.)
At least Fiorina, who has said she would overturn Roe v. Wade if given the chance, hasn't dubbed herself a feminist, like her new BFF Palin did recently in one of her more comic moments.
In her effort to win the Tea Party vote and disgruntled Independents, Fiorina has been particularly intent on slamming Tom Campbell, a former congressman and the lone moderate in the race. (Chuck DeVore, the other GOP candidate, is pretty much toast at this point.) It seems like ages ago, but remember the delightfully tacky demon sheep ad, where Fiorina painted Campbell as a "wolf in sheep's clothing"?
At a debate in May, when the GOP candidates were asked if people on the "no-fly list" should be allowed to carry guns, Fiorina attacked Campbell when he very sensibly said no, sniffing, "That's why he has a poor rating from the National Rifle Association, right there."
The attacks appear to have worked. This week Campbell pulled his ads off the air, after Fiorina leaped ahead in the polls.
She's nothing if not tenacious. Faster than you can say "demon sheep," Fiorina was up with a new ad trashing Barbara Boxer. In the ad Boxer is shown saying that climate change is a national security issue. Is that ridiculous, or what? Then Fiorina comes on screen and gravely says, "Terrorism kills, and Barbara Boxer is worried about the weather."
Is that ridiculous, or what?
As for the newly resurrected wedge issue of the moment, Fiorina is all for Arizona's harsh immigration law. At a time when Californians are most worried about jobs and not who's busing their tables or picking their strawberries, that might not be such a swell move.
There's also the no small matter that one in six voters in November is expected to be Hispanic. And that most young Californians have grown up in a strikingly diverse culture where race-baiting not only is unusual but extremely uncool.
Maybe Fiorina should move to Texas?

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

Who gets Game 3 - NBA Finals Update

 Ron ArtestI realize there isn’t an NBA team anywhere near Kansas City and that means there aren’t a lot of NBA fans – at least compared to MLB or NFL – who might be reading UFR. Nevertheless, I am a fan and so I’m going to report after each game in the finals. I would probably do it regardless of who the two teams were, but when it’s the Lakers-Celtics, you can’t go wrong.

Of course, Los Angeles won game #1 the way I expected – dominating at home. Game two was much more like the typical Lakers-Celtics wars of yesteryear – although nowhere near the scoring. Though the final margins of the two games were similar, game #2 was far more competitive.

Having watched both contests, I have a few  thoughts.

Game 1: 67 Free Throw Attempts - Boooring!

Game 2: 67 Free Throw Attempts - Boooring!

As Ron Artest goes, so go the Lakers

Artest was an abysmal 1-10 from the field, 1-6 from the arc and 3-8 from the line. It doesn’t get much worse than that. He is important defensively, but you simply can’t begin to overcome a -3 EFF in 40+ minutes!

I don’t think I’ve ever discussed this yet on UFR. It’s one thing to get a -3 in two minutes of action, but something entirely different in 40 minutes. If you add all the Lakers individual EFFs you get 106. Since there are 240 man-minutes in a game, that means for each minute played per person, they should have racked up .442 EFFs.

Since Artest played 40:31, he should have had an 18 EFF to be consistent with the team. Even worse, take his 40:31 out of the mix and you have 109 divided into 192 minutes. That’s .568 EFF per man minute. If he had done as well as the rest of the team on a per-minute basis, he would have had an EFF of 23.

I can assure you that if he had a 23 instead of a -3, the Lakers would have won… easily. The loss of this game falls at the feet of one person – Ron Artest.

What is Artest doing jacking so many threes?

I looked at the last 30 games that each of the players have played – which includes 18 in the playoffs and the last dozen of the regular season. Here is a stat that will make you quiver in your boots if you are a Lakers’ fan.

COOL FACTOID: Ron Artest has taken more three-point shots than Kobe Bryant over the last 30 games each has played.

That might be ok if it was 2008 (38.0%) or 2009 (39.9%), but in 2010, he only shot 35.5% and over his last 30 games, he’s bricking them at 26.2%.

In Bryant’s last 30 games, he’s shooting treys at 40.3%! Huge difference. Here are the three-point stats for Fisher, Bryant, Farmar and Artest over the last 30 games.

Player	Treys.Attempted	3pt%
Artest	145	26.2
Bryant	144	40.3
Fisher	96	36.5
Farmar	81	45.7

-

Can anyone explain to me what a non-ball handling, defensive forward is doing shooting more threes than any of the guards on the team – including Kobe Bryant – especially when he’s only clanking them at 26% !?

It’s hard to believe Jackson likes it, but you have to figure he probably tolerates it in order to keep his (Artest’s) mind right.

Rajon Rondo was even better than Ray Allen

Rondo will get some props because he is the flavor of the month for the talking heads – not to mention a triple-double. But, most people will certainly make the blanket assumption that Ray Allen won the game for Boston. Although it was close by EFF, Rondo had a 28 and Allen a 26.

While it is true that Allen outscored Rondo 32-19 – including a finals record eight three-pointers on only 11 attempts, it’s also true that Rondo had nine more rebounds and eight more assists!

Besides, every one of those eight three-pointers came in the first three quarters. LA had the lead after that. It was Rondo’s play down the stretch that won the game for the Celtics.

Unquestionably, the headline(s) will read… Ray Allen this, Ray Allen that. In fact, the first person mentioned in every story I looked at was “Ray Allen”. It’s just one more example (out of millions) where the public and the reporter are fooled by scoring.

You will know (well, you won’t know because you will be dead of old age) that reporting has evolved when you see a game like this and the lead headline is “Rajon Rondo leads Celtics to victory”.

EFFs for games 1 and 2

Los Angeles

Player	Game 1	Game 2
Gasol	32	37
Bryant	28	19
Artest	18	-3
Bynum	11	25
Fisher	10	10
Odom	6	6
Brown	5	4
Farmar	5	3
Vujacic	2	5
Walton	1	—

-

Boston

Player	Game 1	Game 2
Pierce	28	9
Rondo	14	28
Garnett	14	13
Wallace	12	12
Perkins	11	16
R.Allen	8	26
Davis	4	7
T.Allen	1	3
Finley	0	—
Robinson	—	7
Williams	—	-2

-

I don’t have a prediction on game #3. However, I’m sticking with the Lakers winning the series. It will be tough to win in six, having lost one of two at home, but I still think they are the superior team.

One last item of interest. On the way home, one of those brilliant late-night radio hosts made a comment to this effect – meaning paraphrased: “I think it is important that LA win at least one game in Boston because they have to get back the home court advantage.”

Hey Sherlock! I’ve got an even better reason why they need to win at least on game in Boston. Because if they don’t… they will lose the series 4-1.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

GM Recall of Cars in Canada

 General Motors is the latest auto maker to deal with a major recall.
More than one million vehicles are affected in North America including more than 250 thousand in Canada.
The company says there are potential steering problems with some of its compact vehicles.
But GM insists the problem only occurs at low speeds and the vehicles are still safe to drive.
Vehicles affected by the recall include:
2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
2007-2010 Pontiac G5
2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit
The company says an investigation has revealed "greater steering effort" may be required by drivers when the vehicle is travelling at under 24 km/hr.
There have been reports of 14 crashes and one injury in the U-S and three complaints in Canada.
Repairs won't be made until replacement parts are available from the dealership.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

What Can You saY? Angelica Panganiban buckled Up against Barreto

Ano ma say nyo ?

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

Guatemala Sink Hole...was it a mystery?

 The Guatemala sinkhole of May 31, 2010 appears to be one of the worst sinkholes in Guatemala City history.  These extremely surreal photos are depicting an terrible crater that was said to be caused by tropical storm Agatha.  The Guatemala sinkhole is being called a “hundimiento” or spontaneous sinkhole by the Guatemala City government.  Their scientists say this is just a random occurrence that happens from time to time when major storms pass by.  They generally only make slight depressions rather than this extremely deep freak of a sinkhole.

There is conflicting information so I will try to weed out the crap as the time passes.  Some sources were saying a security guard was the only fatality.  This is very sad if there were any deaths in the Guatemalan sinkhole, however this happened at an intersection so things could have gone much worse, especially considering how deep this beast of a sinkhole was.  The Guatemala Crater will most likely be remembered for a long time to come as ones this deep are rarely seen.   As it stands now they are estimating it is at least 18 meters wide, and 60 meters deep.
Update#1:  According to a local named “Les”  There used to be a house on the corner, and there was possibly up to three people in the house during the time of the Guatemala sinkhole.  This is turning out to be more tragic than originally thought, however I still think this could have gone much worse being that it was in an intersection in the large city of Guatemala City.
Update#2: A  body was just recently pulled from the giant sinkhole in Guatemala City, which has now been measured to be over 200 feet deep.
Update#3:  A viewer was asking for the Guatemala Sinkhole Coordinates, and it is roughly in the north eastern part of the city at: 14° 39′ 7.5″ N, 90° 30′ 21.5″ W
Update#4:  The Guatemala City Death Toll is up to 150 from Tropical Storm Agatha, mostly from flooding and landslides.  According to the breaking news articles, it seems only one man has actually died from the sinkhole itself

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More

Will Pacquiao settle for Marquez?

When people talk about Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38KO’s), the first things that come up are his unprecedented achievements and his ferocious fighting style.

Astute observers point out the fact that he started professionally at 106 lbs and rampaged his way up to welterweight, plundering titles in seven weight divisions along the way.  Others recite a litany of hall of famers and icons who have fallen at the hands of the Filipino great.

However, there are also those in boxing who believe that a certain fighter has had Pacquiao’s number and unofficially won twice against him.  They think modern Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37KO’s) has two victories over the PacMan regardless of how the official judges scored their two bouts.

Those who claim the Mexico City, Mexico native was robbed both times argue he won the majority of the rounds in the two fights with his excellent ring generalship and aggressive counterpunching.  They matter-of-factly state that “Dinamita” schooled his less technically-proficient nemesis after suffering knockdowns early in the two fights.
However, there are also those in boxing who believe that a certain fighter has had Pacquiao’s number and unofficially won twice against him.  They think modern Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37KO’s) has two victories over the PacMan regardless of how the official judges scored their two bouts.

Pacquiao and Marquez battled fiercely in May 2004 and again in March 2008, the first being adjudged a split draw and the rematch a tightly-fought split decision win for the Typhoon from the Pacific.


Such arguments may sway a neutral observer or those who do not feel strongly for either fighter into believing Marquez does hold two unofficial wins, because of the sheer gallantry of the idea of someone rising from the canvas to wage a savage battle to the end.

Furthermore, Pacquiao has been elevated into the highest pedestal in the sport because of his jaw-dropping dominance, and to see him in such close contests was an aberration so absurd that one might be tempted to entertain the notion he actually lost them in spite of the official scorecards.

The two fights with Marquez actually stand in stark contrast to Pacquiao’s other performances, with the exception of the first Morales fight that he actually lost.

How close to the truth are these impressions then?  Those who champion this school of thought go as far as saying if one takes the knockdowns out of the equation both fights would be near shutouts for the Mexican.

That would be like having one’s cake and eating it too.  For much of the weight their argument has lies in the fact that it is not an ordinary day for a boxing fan to see a fighter get stretched on the canvas three times in one round, and then still rise up to wage a highly competitive battle with his tormentor.  This very fact then is what exactly magnifies his performance in the eyes of those who think he got robbed, to somewhat exaggerated proportions.

The shock one gets from seeing Pacquiao strike Marquez down thrice in a round is only matched by the awe experienced watching Marquez’ resurrection, and since this is relatively the more recent of the two events some people tend to give it more weight.

Take away the awe from Marquez’ heroic recovery, and what one will see is an epic battle of wills.  The Filipino’s ungodly mix of speed, power and ferocity testing the Mexican’s uncanny mastery of technique, resilience and heart.  Indeed, that first fight was never any sort of schooling that some haughtily proffer to unsuspecting recipients in the guise of “well-informed boxing knowledge”.

The second fight is an even hotter topic for debate, as this time the Mexican was dropped only once en route to PacMan eking out a close split decision win.  Those proclaiming Marquez’ alleged robbery yet again, vehemently point to things that Marquez did to win the fight in their eyes but predictably ignore those that swung the pendulum more decisively in Pacquiao’s favor.

They argue Marquez controlled the action, was effective in his aggression and had Pacquiao hurt more times than he was himself hurt by Pacquiao, this last claimed by the Mexican himself in the postfight interview.

They do not however mention that Maquez would have touched canvas a second time in the third round were it not for the ropes, and indeed should have been properly called a second knockdown by referee Kenny Bayless as clearly stipulated in the WBC rules for a championship fight.  Specifically, WBC Rules for Championship fights Section 11 on Knockdowns Item 5 states that, “If the ropes prevent a fighter from going down, the referee will call it a knockdown”.

The fighting Congressman-elect from Sarangani Province of the Philippines also had his opponent lurching on spaghetti legs in the tenth round with an improbable single overhand left while himself out of position.  There were not only more instances where PacMan legitimately hurt Marquez, but also that these instances were of the near-knockdown varieties.

The eighth round where Marquez had his way with a vision-impaired Pacquiao was basically the one round where it can be argued the Mexican had his biggest round, but still at no time was the PacMan badly hurt or in danger of falling to the canvas.  If anything can be gleaned from that round, it is that even with Manny hindered by a bloody cut the best Marquez could do was pot shoot him.  Maybe he was simply wary of the Filipino’s power, but at times in that revealing eighth round he seemed at a loss on how to proceed.  In that brief time when the roles were reversed and his opponent seemed vulnerable, Marquez couldn’t even rise to the occasion and score a knockdown that would have lent credence to his post-fight claims about who had hurt whom more.

A closely-fought split decision in favor of the fighter who scored a knockdown, had his opponent seriously hurt more times, and just plainly won more rounds is no robbery.  Even some respected boxing journalists who happened to score the fight differently compared to the official verdict, admit a Pacquiao win was still a legitimate possibility and that they could actually see it in their own scorecards had they scored some really close rounds the other way.   In the end, the history books will bear a footnote to the first fight which was officially scored a split draw, that official judge Burt Clements admitted erroneously scoring the first round 10-7 because he thought he could not give a 10-6 card even for a three-knockdown round.  His final tally of 113-113 would have instead read 113-112 Pacquiao, and given Manny the split decision victory.
And it will also carry on its pages that while the second fight may have been as close, ultimately the verdict went to the fighter who truly deserved it, thus silencing once and for all any lingering questions improperly foisted on the outcome of this fight.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

Read More