Typhoon Sendong: Fund Drive / Donations Update

Tropical storm Sendong ravaged Mindanao with devastating rains, unleashing flash floods and landslides that left a trail of destruction and left thousands our kababayans homeless. Hundreds of pictures and videos filled the screens of our television sets and computer monitors depicting the sad plight of our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.

What we saw in the news saddened each and every one of us. Words cannot describe the fuzziness in my throat and the clouds in my eyes when I saw the picture of a father carrying the dead body of his child. The picture tells it all.

Please allow us to take this opportunity to thank our pool players and friends who extended a helping hand in the form of cash assistance and/or relief goods for the victims of Sendong. They are the following:

Gillian Go (BDN)
Php 3,000

Lee Vann Corteza and the Negros Billiards Stable
Php 10,000

World Champion Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit (MAPPA/BDN)
10 boxes of bottled mineral water

Jonathan, Sonia, and Jed Paguio (IAC)
Php 500

Jassen Chua (BDN)
1 plastic container of used clothing

Boyong Jorge (MAPPA)
1 shopping bag of used clothing

Jesse Gonzales Cambosa (MAPPA)
1 shopping bag of new shirts

and

a group of kids who donated bags of used clothing.

Despite the short notice and all, we managed to gather a total of Php13,500, 10 boxes of bottled mineral water, 5 bags of used clothing, and 1 bag of brand new shirts for our kababayans. The donations were turned over to Ms. Sol of GMA-7, who furnished us with receipts for such. Many thanks to Sam Nielsen of GMA-7 for taking time out to assist us with the fund drive.

To everyone who shared their blessings with our brothers and sisters, and our sons and daughters in Mindanao, Maraming salamat po!


*To the man in the picture – I know it may not mean much but you and your child will always be in my prayers. Always.

"We make a living by what we get.
We make a life with what we give."

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Bagyong Pepeng - Super Typhoon Parma

I am about to ramble. I was in Ayala, Makati City, around 4:15 PM today. I noticed that there were like hundreds of people on the street.

I asked one of 'em what the fuss was all about, and learned that they were asked to go home to prepare for the incoming super typhoon (Parma aka Pepeng) and to be with their families.

I understood what every one on the street (or most of them) was going through at that point in time. Believe you me, seeing the TV images for the past few days on the destruction brought about by Typhoon Ondoy made me feel strange. It’s neither fear nor anxiety. Anger? No. Sadness? Yes. Most of the images I’ve seen on TV depicted pain and suffering on my kababayan’s faces. And truth be told, it hit me – to the core of my soul.

I got hold of my phone, dialed the number of my twin sons, but to no avail - network busy daw. Tried countless times, but connecting proved futile. Without second thoughts, I canceled two money-related meet ups and decided to go home to be with my sons.

I went to my car, started it, and headed towards the Skyway's entry ramp near Amorsolo. Saw McDonald's at Makati Cinema Square, and suddenly remembered how hungry I was - no breakfast or lunch yet for me the whole day, at mag-gagabi na! And I kid you not! I decided to forego Mcdo and head straight for Skyway.

Experienced almost 2 hours of traffic at Skyway - all the time trying to contact my twins.

Upon reaching home, my twin sons gave me a "Welcome home, Dad" kiss. After resting for about 5 minutes, the three of us had dinner, and chatted while doing such. Like most of you, I am a firm believer in the adage that family always comes first.

It’s 9:40 PM. And it has started raining again.

I pray that everything will be alright for my family and friends, and for each and every Filipino, especially those who have not yet recovered from the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy, which hit us last week. Ramdam ko ang paghihirap at pagdadalamhati ninyo, aking mga kababayan. Kung kaya ko lang kayong tulungan lahat, di kayo mag-dadalawang salita sa akin. You and our beautiful country are always in my prayers.

I guess I am still rambling. No edits, no grammar and spell checks, no nothing. Just rambling. At this point in time, my only wish is that my beautiful country be spared from more destruction – havoc feared to be brought about by the incoming Super Typhoon Parma (Bagyong Pepeng). Sana lumihis. Sana maglahong parang bula. Sana. Sana. Sana.

May God bless the Filipinos.
May He bless my beautiful country.
May the Lord bless us all.

"A thousand things rushing through my mind.The AnitoKid"

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Ondoy Pictures: Wrath of the Typhoon in YouTube!

Storm Ondoy Update:

Friends, here is a YouTube video featuring more pictures depicting the wrath of, and the havoc left, by Typhoon Ondoy.

More reads on Ondoy

*Ondoy at UERM
*MMDA Number-Coding Suspended
*Bagyong Ondoy Floods Update
*ABS-CBN Telethon for Ondoy Victims
*Ondoy Floods the Metro



Fund raising efforts for flood victims are still ongoing at ABS-CBN.
Contact info:

Sagip Kapamilya: 413-2667 and 416-0387

ABS-CBN U.S. Foundation (Toll Free): 1-800-527-2820

Sagip Kapamilya Warehouse
(in kind and cash donations)
No.13 Examiner St., Quezon City
Please look for Ms. Girlie Aragon

"The AnitoKid Supports the Bagyong Ondoy Telethon!"

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Typhoon Ondoy Flood Pictures: The Aftermath at UERM!

Storm Ondoy Aftermath Pictures: Friends, here is a YouTube video featuring pictures of the destruction left by storm Ondoy at UERM, a hospital in Quezon City.

Picture credits all go to Ron Dizon.

More reads on Ondoy

*MMDA Number-Coding Suspended
*Bagyong Ondoy Floods Update
*ABS-CBN Telethon for Ondoy Victims
*Ondoy Floods the Metro

"Help and prayers for my kababayans.The AnitoKid."

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Bagyong Ondoy: MMDA Number-Coding System Suspended!

Bagyong Ondoy: More updates!

Friends, here is another update related to the aftermath of storm Ondoy.

In light of the destruction brought about by tropical storm Ondoy, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has suspended the number-coding system for vehicles starting tomorrow, Monday, until Friday.

According to MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, the one-week suspension should allow the national and local government to rescue and provide relief to affected areas. It is also geared to speed up rehabilitation efforts, so that life would return to normalcy.

For those not in the know, the number coding system bars private vehicles from using Metro Manila main roads on certain days of the week, based on the number in their license plates.

*Pics are not mine. And I kid you not!

Picture credits: JC Lopez

"Help and prayers for my kababayans.The AnitoKid."

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Bagyong Ondoy Floods Update!

Storm Ondoy Updates: Here is an update from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, friends. Credits and all go to the article's authors and publisher.

Month’s worth of rain; storm Ondoy kills 40
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr., Nikko Dizon, Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in just six hours over Metro Manila Saturday, triggering the worst floods in nearly 40 years, stranding people on rooftops, causing wide-spread blackouts and killing at least 40 people, officials said.

“In my experience, this is the worst that I have seen,” Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said as he described how authorities grappled to deploy limited resources amid a barrage of pleas for help after Storm “Ondoy” slammed ashore.

The government declared a state of calamity in Metro Manila and 25 provinces in Luzon as the massive flooding paralyzed businesses and transportation.

The calamity declaration allows officials to withdraw emergency money for relief and rescue.

While the weather bureau had predicted Ondoy would hit the country, its severity was not expected.

The massive floods turned wide areas of the metropolis virtually into a sea.

Families from across various sectors, including the middle class living in gated communities, were among those marooned in their homes, many stranded on their roofs.

The Philippine Navy said it was the first time the Navy had received such a huge number of simultaneous calls for help.

Chelo Banal-Formoso, a Philippine Daily Inquirer editor, sent this text for help: “We are in Goodrich Village right next to a creek. Our whole first floor is now flooded almost to the ceiling. Water is still rising. I have a son with autism who needs to be in a place with electricity. My brothers tries but could not get us in ordinary cars.”

Toni Carbonell, NGO administrator, was also stranded with her daughter and her two-month old grandchild. She lives at Block 3, Lot 30, Narra St., Dacon Homes in Cainta, Rizal.

Lanie Miculob, manager of Sy-owned Highlands Prime, was also stranded and lives at 4B Block B Fernandez St., San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City.

Candice Lim, Yes Magazine staffer, who lives in Provident Village, Marikina, sent this SOS via text: “No one is sending help because the current is too strong. Inanod na kotse.”

Waters rise to 5 meters

Commuters plodded through floods that reached as high as five meters in some places, police said, while many motorists were forced to drive around in circles to avoid getting stranded in the surging waters.

Dozens of vehicles stalled in Manila, Makati, Pasay, Quezon City and Taguig.

Several thousand people fled to evacuation centers.

Defense Secretary Teodoro said three people were killed in Muntinlupa City, while two were killed in Quezon City.

Thirty-five other people were killed in Rizal province, Tony Mateo, a member of the Rizal provincial disaster coordinating council, told the Inquirer Saturday night. He said they included 16 people killed in Tanay, 10 in Angono, five in Baras, three in Rodriguez and on in Teresa.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rode an Army truck to check the extent of flooding around Malacañang. She later took the Light Rail Transit (LRT) to attend a meeting of disaster officials at Camp Aguinaldo.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported that at least 90 percent of major thoroughfares in the capital was submerged in floodwaters, bringing traffic in several portions of EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) to a stop for hours.

“This is the worst flooding I have seen since I was born here,” said Parañaque City’s 60-year-old Mayor Florencio Bernabe.

Pateros Mayor Joey Medina said his town last experienced floods as severe as Saturday’s when Typhoon “Yuling” pounded Metro Manila in 1972.

“Ondoy brought a month’s worth of rain to Metro Manila in one day,” the spokesperson of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Nathaniel Cruz, told the Inquirer.

Metro Manila’s average rainfall for September is 391.7 millimeters. In six hours, Ondoy dumped 341 millimeters of rainfall.

“It’s unusual,” Pagasa weather forecaster Bernie de Leon said. It was also the worst case of flooding seen by Pagasa in recent years, he said.

De Leon said the heavy rainfall might be a “manifestation of climate change.” He added: “It’s not conclusive but it could be one of the reasons,” he said.

2,000 evacuees

Nearly 2,000 people were evacuated in Manila and surrounding areas, an initial report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.

The NDCC reported that as of Saturday afternoon, some 1,300 individuals were rescued in San Mateo, Rizal alone. Houses were swept away as the Marikina River rapidly swelled.

The following provinces were placed under a state of calamity: Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Camarines Norte and Bataan.

The Philippine Navy spokesperson, Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, said he received numerous phone calls from people he did not know, all asking for help, especially as the night crept in.

“Some of them said they were already staying on the roof of their houses. Some were already begging for help, while some were very angry,” he said.

But he explained that responding to all calls for help was difficult considering the limited number of rescue teams, rubber boats and trucks the Navy had.

The Philippine Air Force also could not fly its helicopters in the morning because of the downpour.

Early NDCC reports said that 33 barangays were heavily flooded in Metro Manila, including nine barangays in San Juan City, six in Malabon City and five each in Quezon and Pasig cities.

Thirty-seven road sections in Metro Manila were impassable.

In Bulacan, 25 barangays were under waste-deep water after the Ipo Dam opened three of its gates.

The Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Ports Authority in Batangas suspended inter-island travel.

More rains today

Cruz said that Pagasa had forecast heavy rains in Metro Manila over the weekend but “we cannot predict the amount of rainfall.”

While a “general improvement” in the weather is expected on Sunday, De Leon said, Ondoy will continue to dump rains in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and the Vizayas until early this week because of the southwest monsoon.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday the eye of the storm was spotted in Pampanga.

It was moving 13 kph west northwest toward Iba, Zambales, packing maximum winds of 85 kilometers per hour with gustiness of 100 kph.

Cruz said that Ondoy had picked up speed and made landfall earlier than expected on Saturday.

Ondoy slammed into the boundary of Aurora and Quezon provinces shortly before noon. Pagasa had predicted it would hit land on Saturday afternoon.

Pagasa said Ondoy was expected to be 190 kilometers northwest of Iba, Zambales, by Sunday noon, and 630 km northwest of the province by Monday afternoon.

Mayor Bernabe said floodwaters reached the rooftops of houses in a private subdivision in Barangay Marcelo.

“Although flooding was common in Parañaque, this is the first time I saw our roads under waist-deep floodwaters. The city was practically at a standstill,” he said.

Parañaque officials some 10,000 families in the city were affected or displaced.

In Las Pinas City, Vice Mayor Henry Medina said over 2,000 families fled their homes in eight villages near the Zapote and Las Piñas rivers.

Pateros residents were also surprised at how swift the waters had risen.

“We were really shocked by what had happened. The floodwaters suddenly went as high as six feet in a matter of three hours,” he said.

The widespread flooding also prompted the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) to close both the north- and south-bound lanes of the South Luzon Expressway to all kinds of vehicles.

Trains also hit

But the storm did not even spare the trains.

MRT3 operations were disrupted from 5 a.m. until 1 p.m. when floodwaters affected the power system of the Quezon Avenue station.

Operations were back to normal after 1 p.m.

Over 500 families were evacuated in Quezon City because of severe flooding as Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. appealed to residents in low lying barangays to go to higher grounds.

Several families in Manila also evacuated to higher grounds.

“The Estero de Paco overflowed leaving the area submerged in knee-deep floodwater,” Jay dela Fuente, chief of the city social welfare office, said. “This is the second time that the estero overflowed. The first time was during Typhoon Frank.”

Low-lying Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela are used to floods but residents were still surprised by the surge of floodwaters Saturday and by the speed with which the waters buried roads up to neck deep.

About 80 to 90 percent of Caloocan City was under water.

Public safety and traffic management chief Alfonso Sta. Maria said this was the worst flooding experienced by the city, submerging majority of its 188 barangays in five feet of waters, if not higher.

Telethon updates for storm victims

Sagip Kapamilya: 413-2667 and 416-0387

ABS-CBN U.S. Foundation (Toll Free): 1-800-527-2820

Sagip Kapamilya Warehouse
(inkind and cash donations)
No.13 Examiner St., Quezon City
Please look for Ms. Girlie Aragon

"Support the Bagyong Ondoy Telethon! The AnitoKid!"

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Bagyong Ondoy Floods the Philippines! More Updates! ABS-CBN Telethon!

I have been on the Internet computer network since this 7 AM today – searching for news on the status of my kababayans left homeless and stranded by the wrath of Bagyong Ondoy. Like my television set, my computer screens are filled with images of people struggling to cope with the destruction left by Bagyong Ondoy, e.g., flooded streets and submerged 2-story houses, countless cars piled on top of each other, drowned victims, and search for missing persons.

Then I came upon this news article from the Philippine Star newspaper, “GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips,” published August 15, 2009.

I don’t know what to think anymore. Instead, I’ll try to focus my efforts on the fate of my kababayans.

There is an on-going telethon at ABS-CBN Channel 2 for my affected kababayans. I believe the telethon is also being shown on ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) cable channel. To everyone reading this, please help make the telethon a success – all for my kababayans. After all, we make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give.

Contact info for the telethon:
Sagip Kapamilya: 413-2667 and 416-0387

And for friends who would still like to read the post on “GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips,” here it is in its entirety.

GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips

President Arroyo used up the government’s P800-million contingency fund for emergencies like calamities for her frequent foreign trips, Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III revealed yesterday.

“She exhausted not only Malacañang’s travel funds but also the P800-million appropriation for emergencies in the 2008 national budget,” he told radio station dzMM.

He said he based his revelation on a Commission on Audit (COA) report submitted to Speaker Prospero Nograles this week.

“I have a copy of the report. An assistant commissioner of COA even briefed us on their shocking findings,” he said.

Guingona said the COA findings show that the 2008 contingency fund was not enough for foreign travels and Mrs. Arroyo had to augment it by P120 million.

“The augmentation was also exhausted,” he added.

Guingona also said the President overspent for her foreign travels between 2003 and 2007 by P1.6 billion.

She has only P1.1 billion under the annual budgets but she spent P2.7 billion over that period, he said.

He said the House of Representatives should have discovered the excess spending during the budget hearings.

“But the House is dominated by the President’s allies, so they just turn a blind eye,” he said.
He accused the President of violating the annual budget law “because she could not augment what Congress had approved and authorized her to spend.”

He said he would demand during the forthcoming budget hearings details on how and when Malacañang’s travel funds and the appropriation for contingencies were used.

Mrs. Arroyo’s latest foreign travel was her weeklong working visit to the United States two weeks ago.

It has become controversial largely due to at least two expensive dinners the President and her entourage of more than 50 enjoyed in posh restaurants in Washington and New York City.

Sen. Francis Escudero has criticized Mrs. Arroyo’s frequent travels abroad, saying she has spent more than P3 billion in taxpayers’ money for them.

Before her latest US visit, she “circumnavigated” the globe by flying to Tokyo, then to Los Angeles, Colombia, Brazil, Dubai, and Hong Kong before returning to Manila, he said.

According to former Senate president Ernesto Maceda, Mrs. Arroyo has spent a total of P5.5 billion for more than 50 foreign trips she has made since 2001.

In a recent television interview, Maceda said appropriations in the annual budgets for the President’s trips totaled P3.3 billion.

“In addition to these, there are contingency funds that could be used for foreign travel. Mrs. Arroyo has realigned a total of P2.2 billion of these funds for her foreign trips,” he said.

He said he got his data from the Department of Budget and Management and the Senate finance committee, of which he was chairman for five years.

He added that Escudero’s P3-billion figure apparently did not include realignments from the contingency funds.

Meanwhile, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez confirmed yesterday that President Arroyo and her large entourage had another expensive dinner in New York City other than the controversial $20,000 meal at the posh Le Cirque French restaurant.

“Yes, there was a second dinner in New York. But I was not there. I had other engagements,” he said.

He could not say where it was exactly or how much the presidential entourage paid.

Text messages purportedly coming from a staff member of the Philippine embassy in Washington claim that Mrs. Arroyo’s party enjoyed two dinners at Le Cirque.

The embassy supposedly paid for the New York City dinners, including the controversial meal on Aug. 2, for which Press Secretary Cerge Remonde claimed Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez shelled out $20,000.

The messages also claim it was the embassy that paid for a $3,500-a-night suite for the President and 60 $950-a-night rooms for her congressional companions at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos used to stay.

Suarez and Rep. Romualdez are among Mrs. Arroyo’s favorite congressional companions whenever she travels abroad.

On Thursday, Suarez claimed that he was the one who paid $15,000 for steaks and lobsters at a Washington DC restaurant last July 30.

COA audit pushed

For a left-wing lawmaker, the Commission on Audit should form a special audit team to review the “lavish” spending of President Arroyo in her US trip.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño personally went to the office of COA chairman Reynaldo Villar, and handed him a two-page letter containing his request. He said he merely wanted the “whole truth about the controversies surrounding the US trip.”

He also invoked Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which may have been violated by government officials who had partaken of the expensive meals in New York and Washington.

“Like most of our countrymen, I wonder, what other lavish expenses were made by the Philippine delegation?” he asked. Casiño finds the meal expenses “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable even if bills were footed by a private entity.”

Casiño, fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza filed House Resolution 1315 that seeks to direct the House committee on good government to conduct an inquiry on the matter.

Casiño said it is well “within the jurisdiction of COA to determine, through a special audit, if public funds were irregularly used and if laws and policies were violated.”

Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglunsod said Malacañang must present to the public a detailed accounting of all expenses of the President’s state and working travels abroad, including her latest trip to the US.

“The people deserve to know how much the President spent for her foreign travels,” he said.
“The expensive dinner at Le Cirque and the meal at Bobby Van’s Steak House in Washington are just the tip of the iceberg. Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage are definitely spending more than what they should during their junkets,” Maglunsod added.

“Whether the meals were paid for by private individuals or government officials, Mrs. Arroyo has a lot of explaining to do about her expenses during her trips and her swelling wealth,” he said.

“It is evident that Mrs. Arroyo and other public officials joining working and state visits violated Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” Maglunsod said.

No excuse

“The report that the consulate in New York has been asked to foot the bill is disturbing, and if true, exposes the sham behind Malacañang’s claim that taxpayer’s money was not spent for the Le Cirque dinner,” Makati City Mayor and opposition leader Jejomar Binay said.

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Typhoon Ondoy Floods the Philippine Metro! Luzon Flooded!

Typhoon Ondoy floods the Pool Capital of the World!

It was around 9:30 AM when I started the car to go out and participate in a tournament at the billiardsHobbies Billiards Hall in Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City. I noticed that the first street after the village’s gate was flooded. It wasn’t the ankle-deep water that surprised me – ‘twas the fact that the street was flooded! ‘Twas the first time I’ve seen the street as such! I decided to drive back to my house and wait for the weather to clear up.

But clear it did not! The rainfall brought about by tropical depression "Ondoy" to Metro Manila and nearby areas in a span of six hours was the most in recorded history! It even surpassed the previous record for the Pool Capital of the World in 1967! And I kid you not!

The amount of rainfall from Ondoy from 8:00 AM to 2:00 Pm measured 341 millimeters, breaking the record for the highest 24-hour rainfall of 334 millimeters in the metro recorded by Pagasa in June 1967. The amount nearly equaled the Philippines’ average monthly rainfall. And it is still raining as I’m writing this!

A thousand thoughts rushed through my mind as I watched on TV images of flooded streets all over the metro and throughout Luzon. These include stranded commuters and families, crying children, strong currents, power outages, overflowing dams, rescue teams, rubber boats, National Disaster Coordinating Council, weather bulletins, unity, helping hands, much-needed relief goods, public order, poor drainage system, pollution and garbage problem, climate change, and more!

Prayers to my affected kababayans.

Please stay safe, friends!

Ondoy Storm Update:

At least 25 provinces of Luzon including Metro Manila are placed under state of calamity by the government.

Weather bulletin from Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA): Signal No. 2 remains in Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Northern Quezon, and Polilo Island.

Signal No. 1 is up for Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugai, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro provinces, Lubang Island, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Bataan, Metro Manila and the rest of Quezon.

Typhoon Ondoy continues to move with a maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph. It is expected to leave the country’s area of responsibility by Monday morning.

Licensure Examination for Teachers in Metro Manila on Sunday, September 27, 2009 is postponed.

Bar exams scheduled for September 27, 2009, is postponed to October 4, 2009

"Breaking news from The AnitoKid!"

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Billiards & Violence: Man Stabbed After Pool Game!

A billiards buddy sent me a link to a news item from the Lancashire Evening Post. The news item reads:

Man stabbed in head after pub pool game

A young man was stabbed in the head and stomach in an attack involving a group of rival pool players.

The 20-year-old was attacked on Friday December 12 between 8pm and 8.30pm at the Queens Pub, Chapel Brow, Leyland.

He was playing pool in the pub with his friend when they were approached by three or four men who challenged them to a game.

They all played pool together before going into the smoking area, outside at the rear of the pub.

An argument then broke out between the man and the group.

He was punched and kicked to his head and body. He suffered a minor stab wound to the head and a graze across his stomach caused by a sharp implement.

The men are white and in their late teens to early 20s.

One is described as having ginger or blonde hair with a baby face and freckles.

He is slim with a large nose. Another was described as having dark hair and sunken cheeks. He is around 5ft 5ins tall.

A third is described as being 5ft 7ins tall with dark hair and a long nose.


A-Kid:
Billiards buddies and pool players, if you have any info and all, please contact the Leyland Police Station on 01772 415947 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. The perpetrators of the violence must be brought to justice! And I kid you not!

Have a safe new year, everyone!

"It's hot in the city with The AnitoKid!"

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OJ Simpson: Guilty!

Some of my billiards buddies at Filling Station asked me for copies of news about the conviction of O.J. Simpson. Truth be told, I misplaced my copy of the article. However, I managed to save a screen shot of the news in one of my old laptops.

I retyped the entire thing for my pool player friends – in its entirety! And I kid you not! Lest I forget, credits go to the Associated Press for the news.

In the end, O.J. Simpson comes up a loser in Vegas

In a city where luck means everything, O.J. Simpson came out the big loser — and his unlucky number in a case full of bizarre twists was 13.

He was convicted of an armed robbery that happened on Sept. 13 and was found guilty on the 13th anniversary of his Los Angeles murder acquittal. The Las Vegas jury deliberated for 13 hours after a 13-day trial.

And then, as only the sobs of Simpson's sister broke the silence late Friday, the lights went out.

Court marshals flipped on flashlights and shouted for everyone to stay seated. Only the judge knew what had happened. It was 11 p.m. and the courthouse lights had shut down automatically.

"Timed out," Judge Jackie Glass said in a fitting epitaph for the story of O.J. Simpson, which has long haunted America.

The 61-year-old Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering five men a year ago and storming a room at a hotel-casino to seize Simpson sports mementos — including game balls, plaques and photos — from two collectors. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one said Simpson had asked him to bring a gun.

After the verdict, Simpson, the sports-idol-turned-celebrity-pariah, was handcuffed and led from the room with his co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart. They could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

"There is justice," said attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the family of his slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. "Justice was delayed, but in this case it was not denied. Now that he may spend the rest of his life in prison, the law, and not O.J. Simpson, will have the last word."

Some observers said the Las Vegas case paled in comparison to the "trial of the century" in 1995, a yearlong opus in which Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.

A rapt nation followed the Los Angeles trial. Tales of a gruesome murder and a bloody glove, as well as the celebrity defendant, drew a media frenzy.



In Las Vegas, Simpson's fate played out in a small courtroom dotted with empty seats. Even the stunning verdict came as most of America slept, oblivious to the irony that Simpson might spend the rest of his life in prison for what most perceived as a petty crime, a tussle among dysfunctional middle-aged men.

Simpson's Las Vegas defense tried to tell the jury that the two cases had nothing to do with each other, but it was a losing battle.

"I don't know that one trial cancels out the other," said Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson, who attended Simpson's murder trial. "People will always be troubled by O.J. For the people troubled by the Los Angeles acquittal, this case will make small amends. Saying finally there is justice, at least from a legal perspective, is very crude way of looking at justice."

She predicted that Stewart, 54, will have a strong chance for reversal on appeal because he was forced to stand trial beside Simpson.

"O.J. was toxic, and he has been toxic since 1994, and this jury was just ready to clean up the mess," Levenson said.

Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter said Saturday he felt bad for Simpson but even worse for Stewart, who got dragged along in a campaign to convict Simpson.

"This was just payback," he said of the verdict. "They were on an agenda."

Galanter and Stewart's lawyers promised to appeal, in part because unlike the predominantly black jury that decided Simpson's murder case, this panel included no African-Americans. Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified.

Simpson friend Tom Scotto, who wept in court, called it "a public lynching."

"Was this something to put someone in jail for the rest of their life for? It's a total injustice. There was no justice served in that courtroom," Scotto said.

It was Scotto's wedding that had brought Simpson to Las Vegas on that fateful week in 2007, and details of wedding plans, flowers, a cake and parties formed an ironic counterpoint to testimony about Simpson gathering up a posse that included two gun-toting men to confront memorabilia dealers who were peddling Simpson's personal property to the highest bidder.

The case was set in motion by Thomas Riccio, a collectibles broker who tried to bring in the FBI when he heard that two memorabilia dealers were planning to sell a trove of Simpson artifacts. Failing to get their attention, he helped set up a "sting" by promoting an anonymous buyer who turned out to be Simpson.

Riccio, who has peddled goods including video of Anna Nicole Smith's breast implant surgery, saw a chance to profit by recording the confrontation between Simpson and collectibles dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.

He rented a cramped hotel room away from the Las Vegas Strip for the meeting and planted a digital recorder atop an armoire. Riccio then sold the recordings of the six-minute confrontation for $210,000 before turning them over to police eight days later. Although they couldn't be authenticated, the recordings became the heart of the prosecution's case, along with audio recorded by gunman Michael McClinton at two wedding parties.

The recordings were sometimes garbled, but Simpson's voice came through loud and clear: "Don't let nobody out of this room." The words formed the basis of the prosecution's kidnapping charge.

The former football hero also was heard accusing the men of stealing his possessions. His lawyer would argue that Simpson was on a recovery mission to reclaim the artifacts of his life.

But District Attorney David Roger argued that ownership was not a defense to robbery.

Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life in prison. Armed robbery carries a sentence of at least two years behind bars and could bring as much as 30.

Simpson and Stewart were taken to the Clark County jail, where the football star will live in a 7-by-14-foot cell, far removed from his ranch-style home in the lush Miami suburbs. It will be his home until at least Dec. 5, when he and Stewart are scheduled to be sentenced.

Even before the verdict, Simpson appeared resigned that his luck had run out.

He had been prepared for the worst, his lawyer said.

And in a conversation with The Associated Press on Thursday, Simpson implied as much, saying, "I'm afraid that I won't get to go to my kids' college graduations after I managed to get them through college."

Scotto told reporters Saturday that he had spoken to Simpson by phone.

"He's in good spirits," Scotto said. "He's one of the strongest human beings on the planet. He's confident the truth will come out eventually."

"The AnitoKid spirit!"

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