Friday, December 20, 2013

Legacy #3: The Man with a Triangle Head



It’s a rainy Saturday, December 21, 2013. It’s now almost 7AM and I just finished my talk closing the ceremonies for the 4th Arlie Parenas Commemorative Fun Run 2013. At Speed Computer College this is an annual event that we do in honor of our erstwhile Chairman, Engr. Arlie, who passed away in December of 2009 due to a stroke.

What makes this Fun Run 2013 special is that the proceeds are intended to help: (1) The Typhoon Yolanda victims of Tacloban; (2) Engr. Roan Espinas, School Administrator of TESDA Bulusan; and (3) Speed Center for Leadership advocacies. I would probably blog about this morning’s event in the near future. Now my story is about what I spoke of this morning – how we helped the ‘Man with a Triangle Head’.

Elpidio Gersalia is a high school teacher at the Sorsogon National High School. He is also a faculty member of Speed Computer College and teaches tertiary level after office hours on part-time basis. He is in his mid-40’s I think, single, and living a comfortable life. But he has many dependents typical of Filipino families.

Sometime in July, 2012 he suffered a stroke. He had to undergo immediate brain surgery to live. The medical diagnosis for his condition was Decompressive Hemicranietomy due to large artery Infarct.

After a week, word reached me that he was in dire straights, and selling property to cope with the tremendous medical expenses. This was when we decided to organize a “Run for a Cause” to raise funds for him and other advocacies of the Speed Center for Leadership. At first it was a quiet effort among the students, faculty and staff of Speed Computer College. But when I posted the banner that I had created for the event on my FB wall, a lot of outpouring came in from my friends here and abroad.

We did the run on August 14, 2013 at 5AM. I remember it cost P100 to support one runner if you have to shell out that amount to pay for his registration fee. Around 46 of my friends paid for mine. Someone from Taiwan even sent me Nike Running Shoes for the event.

Days later, I brought my staff to Elpidio’s hospital to turn-over our financial aid. As I entered the door, I could see that it was empty and bare, except for 2 people inside. A man is seated on the bed with his back comfortably resting on pillows. I did not recognize him immediately because he had a distinct and distinguishable triangular head.

As I took a more focused look, I realized it was sir Gersalia. He looks gaunt and has emaciated from a brain surgery. But he was conscious and we were able to talk. He said that surgery removed half of his skull. It would be replaced back to its location after 6 months. In the meantime, they had to store the skull somewhere. This they did by creating a pouch on the side of his abdomen, placing the skull inside, and stitching it close. I could see a bulge on his side that pouch created.

The right half side of Elpidio’s head is contained by soft skin which has now started to grow hair. But the skin alone is not capable of maintaining the full shape of a round head that his left half side still had because the skull on that part is intact. This is what gave him the appearance of a somewhat triangle-shaped head.

We all posed for posterity as we handed him a check for P40,000.00. He was in tears. He had heard that efforts were being made by his permanent employer, the Sorsogon National High School, to assist him. But he was touched by the fact that we were the first to come to his help. We all shook hands and I sealed that moment forever in my mind with a quiet prayer.

The key to immortality is living a life worth remembering. Thank you for all of you who helped me in our efforts to do something for Elpidio. Mabuhay kayo!

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Friday, September 6, 2013

The Parable of the Bird: When to Keep Your Mouth Shut!


A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he lay there dying, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out!

As he lay there all warm and happy, he soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.



Moral of the story:

1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

I am blogging these nuggets that I picked up from various postings online to brighten up our day.



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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Pork Barrel Scam: A Manifesto of Disgust from the Sons and Daughters of the Philippine Military Academy



On August 21, 2013 the concerned sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy issued a Manifesto on the Pork Barrel Scam.

Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the alleged pork barrel scam, is in hiding for illegal detention charges filed by scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

Napoles is also accused of setting up bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) that received some P10 billion in pork barrel funds allocations of some lawmakers.

Below is the full text of the Manifesto.

An Expression of Public Disgust and a Call for Action

WE, concerned sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy, join the Filipino people in condemning in the strongest terms possible the systematic plunder of public funds via the pork barrel by some members of Congress and their accomplices.

WE are aghast, disgusted and enraged at such a wanton display of shamelessness by those who we elected to serve and protect the people. Rather than fulfill their sworn oaths, they unabashedly used their position to steal, deceive and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellowmen most of whom continue to suffer in utter poverty.

WE cannot and we will not tolerate this anymore even those from among our own.

WE demand that justice be served as true justice must.

WE demand that all the stolen funds be returned to the national coffers and that the guilty be meted their due punishment at the soonest possible time.

WE demand an immediate end to the immoral pork barrel system which has proven to be the root cause of corruption and will continually besmirch and compromise the commitment and dedication of the other honorable members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Pork has lost its rationale. Those funds could have been used for better purposes and with clear accountability and control under the Executive branch.

WE trust that this government through the President who advocated good governance and the fight against corruption through the "Daang Matuwid" will fulfill what they had promised.

WE believe PNoy when he said then, “Kung walang kurap, walang mahirap” and in the saying that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Thus, we band together with other Filipinos who are similarly infuriated in expressing freely our thoughts and call to end this grave injustice. Inaction or complacency is no longer an option.

And finally, WE pledge on our honor, in the memory of our fallen Cavaliers who gave their all and in the revered name of PMA that we will be vigilant on issues of corruption so as to give to the Filipino people, from whom we owe so much the privilege to have served this country and of what we have become, what they truly deserve.

To these, with the help of GOD and with COURAGE, INTEGRITY and LOYALTY, we sign our names below.





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Pork Barrel for Dummies: A How-To Guide to Scamming 10 Billion in the Ph



Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the alleged pork barrel scam, is in hiding. The authorities are hunting her down because a Makati court issued an arrest warrant for her and brother Reynald Lim for illegal detention charges filed by scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy. The court recommended no bail.

Napoles is also accused of setting up bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) that received some P10 billion in pork barrel fund allocations of some lawmakers.

Consequently, a freeze order was issued against the bank accounts of members of Napoles’ family, those of her relatives, and of NGOs that she allegedly used to divert P10 billion pesos to those bank accounts.

The Department of Justice has launched a probe on this pork barrel scam. The NBI, in attempting to unravel the mystery of how graft and corruption works on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the official name of the congressional pork barrel, came up with a simple, straightforward video flowchart I saw online 2 days ago. It shows how a scammer can short-circuit the normal process.

But first, what is the normal process? The PDAF is a lump sum appropriation in the national budget. For this year, it has a funding of nearly P25 billion. It allocates P200 million a year for each senator and P70 million for each member of the House of Representatives. The process starts when a senator or congressman makes a request for the release of his allocation. A project list accompanies the request. Projects are drawn from a Menu specified in the annual budget law.

The request is sent to the House appropriations committee or the Senate finance committee, as appropriate. The respective committee chair of either chamber then endorses it to the Senate president or the Speaker, who thereafter forwards it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The DBM checks if the project list conforms to the Menu in the budget law. It then releases the fund to the implementing agency identified by the lawmaker, who is furnished a copy of the release document known as Special Allotment Release Order (SARO).

The lawmaker is really not supposed to interfere in project implementation. But in reality, he chooses the NGO that receives his fund and implements his project. Consequently, the implementing agency, when it receives the PDAF fund, simply turns around and transfers the money to the NGO identified by lawmaker. The transfer is presumably covered by a memorandum of agreement signed among the lawmaker, his implementing agency and his chosen NGO. (Jess Diaz, The Philippine Star) This is where everything goes wrong. Auditors may conduct a post-project implementation examination. But by this time the fund had already been misused.

Now, with the presence of the scammer, the normal process is not merely short-circuited (defeated, lent worthless) but tremendously automated in favor of a corrupt lawmaker because he can sit in the comfort of his office while all the transactions take place.

As the NBI flowchart showed, the scammer goes to the implementing agency and offers it 10-15% of the fund. He then tells the lawmaker that everything is go and promises him 40-50%. He goes to his contact at DBM to check the list of projects conforms to the Menu in the budget law. The DBM releases the fund to the implementing agency and is furnished a SARO. The implementing agency transfers the fund to the NGO.

Simple.

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Sunday, August 18, 2013

KFC ORIGINAL SECRET CHICKEN RECIPE: 12 Herbs and spices.



I’m a long-time fan of KFC chicken and I’ve long wondered if I can create it in the kitchen myself. Well, I’ve come across ‘The’ recipe and here it is. Happy cookin!



Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
3 beaten eggs
4 tablespoons oil
For the coating
2 cups               flour
4 teaspoons       paprika
1 teaspoons       salt
1 teaspoon         pepper
1 teaspoon         poultry seasoning (or chicken stock powder)
1 teaspoon         oregano
1 teaspoon         arragon
1 teaspoon         parsley
1/2 teaspoon      thyme
1 teaspoon         chives
1/2 teaspoon      garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon      onion powder
1/2 teaspoon      celery salt

Directions:
Sift flour and add together all the coating ingredients and grind finely with a mortar and pestle and place in a clean plastic bag. Coat each chicken piece first with the beaten egg, then with the flour mixture in the bag. Make sure you coat each piece completely with the flour.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Brown the chicken in oil slowly, uncovered. Once browned, cover the skillet and keeping frying on a very gentle heat until the chicken is fully cooked. Place on paper towels to drain out the excess oil.


Thanks to Becky Boo, the creator (https://www.facebook.com/lilboo1982), who advises to “share this one so you don't lose it, and you won't see it again!”

I decided to blog it for posterity.

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