Brandon Rios Crying, LA Pinoys dining story behind Pacquiao’s winning comeback- Typhoon Yolanda has gone

Brandon Rios crying on an interview after his hard defeat " I could not believe it, 5 months practice, just practice, practice, and practice..... (crying)  see the video link here

 

After the typhoon, Filipinos rally around Pacquiao's punches

 

Pinoy dealing with Typhoon Haiyan come together to watch national hero Manny Pacquiao fight. His victory is a morale-booster.

 

The ladies of the Filipino ministry of Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church discuss Typhoon Haiyan over a table strewn with grilled fish, ribs, sliced pork belly, chicken wings, chili and a massive platter of mixed rice and flour noodles called pancit.

 

"The typhoon hit here," says Pinky Santos, pointing to the map in gold thread on her blue polo shirt. "My family is here," she adds, moving her finger north.

 

For many Filipinos, it's been a somber month of sharing links to donation websites on social media and organizing aid trips to affected areas. More than 5,000 people have died in what some consider the most destructive typhoon to hit land, and Flor Ross, the night's cook, is still waiting to hear from her uncle in Tacloban City. Three of the children in the church group are considering joining aid missions.

 

It's hardly a time to celebrate. But it's Saturday, and Manny Pacquiao fights tonight. Filipino tradition demands a gathering.

 

Host Flor Ross takes her baby Mary Catherine, 2 months, from Agnes Ma, right, at a Manny Pacquiao party at Ross' Arcadia home. Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines, and his victory over Mexican American boxer Brandon Rios was a morale-booster for a country devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. (Liz O. Baylen, Los Angeles Times / November 23, 2013)

Even in Tacloban City, where the storm hit hardest, cable operators set up TV screens inside a sports stadium to broadcast the fight to survivors. At the Arcadia home of Tom and Flor Ross, the women drape Philippines flags and cook a feast that seems far too large until about 30 people show up. They start a betting pool, with the proceeds going to typhoon survivors.

 

Buy and sell online in the "Philippines Online Shopping Mall" (www.PilipinasMall.com )

 

Agnes Ma begins the dinner with a prayer.

 

"Let us pray. God is great. Thank you for the food and Tom and Flor and this beautiful house and for hosting the fight, and help the people who have been affected by the typhoon. Give them hope ... and a victory for Manny Pacquiao."

 

Everyone grabs paper plates sagging with the weight of grilled meats and rice, and the church group divides into two viewing parties: adults and children. Two television screens set up in separate rooms show the pre-fight broadcasts, and the household's allegiances becomes clear.

 

Brandon Rios, Pacquiao's opponent, is seen warming up, and many remark on how nervous and sweaty he looks. Then HBO shows the clip of Pacquiao toppling face-first to the canvas in his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, and there is a collective groan. Ma's son, Andrew, clad in a T-shirt from Pacquiao's gym, has to look away.

 

"Man, I really hate watching that," said Andrew, 23. "I cannot watch that."

 

Filipinos tend to take Pacquiao's victories and defeats personally, Andrew said. Last year, Mexican and Filipino friends of his gathered to watch the Marquez-Pacquiao fight. He and his Filipino friends left immediately after Marquez knocked out Pacquiao. A Mexican friend even broke up with a Filipino girlfriend that night.

 

Pacquiao appears on screen warming up, and Ma makes the bracelets on her hand jingle with her pointing. She leaves to find her Pacquiao jacket. Jessica Sanchez, a half-Filipino "American Idol" contestant, sings the U.S. and Filipino national anthems, and the women joke about her nails. Santos hums along. Finally, the announcer lays out the stakes for the fight: "When the dust settles, is it the end or rebirth of an era?"

 

That gets everyone riled up, and bellows of "Let's go!" and "C'mon, Manny!" fill the house.

 

When the first round begins, you can keep score by listening to Ma: staccato cries of "Ai! Ai! Ai!" and "Not in the corner, not in the corner!" when Pacquiao is getting hit, and an exultant "Ooh! Yesss, yes, do it, Manny!" when Pacquiao's punches are landing.

 

Both rooms explode when Pacquiao lands his first big combination. Rios has a habit of shaking his head and smirking at his opponents after they land a punch to show he is unhurt.

 

In the sixth round, Rios starts to bleed above the eye. In the seventh, announcers remark on how Pacquiao has begun to build momentum. The ninth and 10th rounds are tense. Plastic spoons freeze mid-scoop in bowls of guinataan, coconut milk soup. Plates heaped with cooling pork ribs are ignored.

 

Pacquiao is landing more punches and winning more rounds than his opponent, but it's becoming clear the fight won't be decided by a knockout. There is some dark muttering about the controversies surrounding recent judging decisions in boxing. The fight ends in the 12th round.

 

As they await the judge's decision, it is silent in the Ross home for the first time all night. The television shows Pacquiao kneeling in prayer in the corner of the ring.

 

Then both groups erupt in a hooting crescendo of delight. It's a unanimous decision for Pacquiao.

 

"He's back, yes! I can bring out my Pacquiao gear again," Andrew Ma says. "Though it would have been good to get a knockout, for the typhoon victims."

 

Agnes Ma heaves a sigh of relief.

 

"Thank God," she says. "Thank God he won again."

 

Wala lang share ko lang ang Kaibigan.Me  (www.Kaibigan.me)

 

The younger viewers take out their phones and make Instagram pictures of Pacquiao's victory speech. Everyone heads to the dining room to eat more. Their laughter is a little louder. They go for seconds on dessert. Ma and a few of the women break into Filipino Christmas carols, rolling with laughter. She counts the money they raised: $107. It's not much, but it's a start, she says.

 

"We're back, baby," Ma says. "Manny is always our Filipino hope." – LA Times

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Japanophobia is fading, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) opens new chapter in relations between Philippines and Japan

Japanese officers disembark a helicopter at Tacloban in the Philippines. Photograph: EPA/Rolex Dela Pena

 

If the Philippines is as rich as South Korea and Malaysia both Asian countries suffered the brutal killings and abuses of Japan during the WWII in Asia, would the Philippines welcome the 1,000 Japanese Forces to step the island to help Typhoon Yolanda Victims?

 

The History 70 years past

 

Fear of Japanese People and heart to the land of the rising sun

 

Japanophobia or fear of Japanese people is still fresh for many of the Filipinos who suffered severe abuses from Japanese Military forces during the WWII but it is fading like a sunset for the new generations as many of the Filipinos clinging even to the sharp edge (Kapit sa patalim) to survive from the severe hardship of life in the Philippines' rotten government system, corruption, jobless, poverty, hunger, and etc. 

 

For the older people, Japanese are dangerous, killer, rapist but for the young generation, Japanese people are a golden key for them to see the land of the rising sun where opportunities are abundant for their better future.

 

While the young generation in the Philippines embraced Japan as their source of life, provider for their needs and hard earned dollars as entertainers, prostitute and club dancers or "Japayoki"; elders who suffered abuses from Japanese Military packed the sufferings and trauma with their entire life and live with fear just even to hear the word Japanese or "Hapon" in local term.

 

"Manang Milania" a Visayan origin migrated to Mindanao Island and settled in Barangay Ramon Magsaysay (Tugop) municipality of Salug in Zamboanga del Norte live with trauma in her entire life from her ordeal of unforgettable traumatic experience from the arms of Japanese soldiers who raped her many times and killed her entire family in her front witnessing the bloody massacre of her family with her younger brother thrown up and skewered by a sword  leaving the painful last word "manang tabang….." while the blood flowing out from the body of her  little brother, then ended his breath .

 

"anhing" "Manang Milania" is just among the victims with long untold stories about her sufferings from Japanese Soldiers; she didn't able to move on but live with fear in her entire life and even to hear any sound of trucks even in the middle of the night, for her the Japanese is coming and she will run away from home and keep doing it until she passed away last 2006. ("anhing" is a local term used to respect the name of the dead; a traditional and cultural belief that the grave will crack and the ghost will return and annoy you if you will not respect their names by calling "anhing before saying their name)

 

Like the other women who suffered from the Japanese soldiers; "anhing" "Manang Milania" is not alone suffering the trauma till her death but still many other women who tried to wake up even from the brink of their death when people tried to say "hala na'y Hapon" (Oh! There are Japanese). We have witnessed several women that carried their sufferings till their last breathe with tears and signed a hand to cover their head when they hear the word "Japanese" or "Hapon".

 

While the Philippines open the arms for friendship to Japan, rich countries who are also victims of Japanese abuses like South Korea, China and Malaysia still skeptical if Japan could be really trusted.

 

Among other Asian countries who suffered severe abuses from Japan; Philippines the only country who is remained poor and did not awaken how important are good economy, well equipped Military, modern technology and Research and developments to repel act of any invasion. Unlike China, South Korea and Malaysia who are now well equipped in their Military and with better economic success stories, the Philippines is alone moving backward.

 

If the Philippines during the Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that flattened Visayas region is already a rich country like South Korea and Malaysia, do you think Philippines will welcome Japanese Military?

 

Manila massacre

 

The Manila massacre refers to the February 1945 atrocities conducted against Filipino civilians in Manila, Philippines by Japanese troops in the Battle of Manila during World War II.

 

To preserve as large a force as possible to continue defensive operations in rural Luzon, Imperial Japanese Army General Tomoyuki Yamashita had insisted on a complete withdrawal of Japanese troops from Manila. However, this was not realized because of objections from Imperial headquarters. 10,000 marines under Vice Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji remained in Manila along with some IJA stragglers

 

Various credible Western and Eastern sources agree that the death toll was at least 100,000, tallying to around 10% of the population of the city. The massacre was at its worst in the Battle of Manila, in which the Allies shelled the city of Manila to drive out the Japanese. In this shelling, the city of Manila was totally destroyed. By the time the Japanese were driven out, the city was in ruins, becoming the second most severely damaged Allied capital city during the war, the first being Warsaw in Poland.  It is said that during lulls in the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took out their anger and frustration on the civilians caught in the crossfire. The total of 100,000 deaths was counted after the battle, but the actual cause of their death is not known.

 

The Manila massacre was said to be one of several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, as judged by the postwar military tribunal. Although General Yamashita didn't recognize any massacres, he was nonetheless judged to be responsible and executed. The Yamashita standard — regarding a commander's responsibility for action taken by anyone under his command — is based upon his trial.

 

Read: Japanese Veteran Writes of Brutal Philippine War – New York Times

 

Jintaro Ishida knows his country's guilty secrets. Like few other Japanese, he knows in detail about the atrocities of World War II, and he knows of the quiet torment of the aging veterans who took part.

 

He knows, for example, about the massacre at the well in the Philippine village of Lipa, where 400 people were thrown to their deaths. The blood lust of the soldiers ran so high, he says, that one of them smashed a rock onto the head of a woman who was combing her hair.

 

Mr. Ishida, 79, who served in the navy during the war, is tortured by the scenes, as if he himself had taken part. He rises in agitation as he describes them, waving his arms as if combing his hair, then whipping them downward like a crazed soldier flinging a stone.

 

Mr. Ishida is one of a small corps of researchers who are swimming against the tide of ignorance in Japan. A former newspaper reporter named Katsuichi Honda has published research about war crimes in China. A professor named Aiko Utsumi has researched war crimes committed in Indonesia.

 

Like many other Japanese, Mr. Ishida said, he had been ignorant of the dark side of his country's history -- of the massacres, sexual slavery, forced labor and the use of chemical and biological warfare.

 

After he retired in 1988, he decided to travel through Asia spreading the word about the horrors of the two atomic bombs dropped by the United States at Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the war. Instead of sympathy, he said, he sometimes found hostility.

 

''I was shocked to discover that the bombs were dropped to stop Japan,'' he said. ''I had thought that people around the world would understand the misery caused by the atomic bombs, but I realized that this idea was a very selfish one.''

 

He began reading wartime accounts, searching through the records of war crimes trials and systematically visiting the sites of massacres. Wherever he went, he said, the survivors had one question: How could the Japanese have been so cruel?

 

The result is an extraordinary work of parallel reporting, a book called ''The Remains of War: Apology and Forgiveness,'' published this year in English by Megabooks Company in the Philippines.

 

Its Japanese title is ''The Killers and the Killed.'' Like his earlier book, ''Walang Hiya,'' which in the Philippine language of Tagalog means ''Without Shame,'' it offered the first opportunity for Japanese to hear the stories of the victims.

 

''I really appreciate his work,'' said Mayumi Horita, 27, a Japanese teacher who served as his interpreter here. ''I feel disappointed that most Japanese don't know about him. Japanese should learn that if they tell the truth they will feel relieved. But they are afraid they will suffer more if they do.''

 

Indeed, that seems to have been true of many of the veterans Mr. Ishida talked to.

 

One old soldier, he said, told of taking part in a massacre at a village south of Manila called Calamba where 2,000 people were killed on Feb. 12, 1945.

 

The massacre at the well began on Feb. 27, 1945. A Japanese military unit ran wild in the village of Lipa, killing a total of more than 1,000 people.

 

''In the beginning, we could not kill even a man,'' says one of the soldiers at Lipa who is quoted in Mr. Ishida's new book. ''But we managed to kill him.

 

''Then we hesitated to kill a woman. But we managed to kill her, too. Then we could kill children. We came to think as if we were just killing insects.''

 

Today, Mr. Ishida seems stunned by what he has learned about his comrades and about human nature. ''These stories were beyond anything I had expected,'' he said. ''How could they have done this? Did they have no conscience?''

 

After a decade of research he has compiled a wealth of historical material. But he has been left with more questions than ever.

 

Typhoon opens new chapter in relations between Philippines and Japan

 

A small but not insignificant moment in history took place at the Philippine air force base adjoining Cebu airport on Cebu Island in the central Philippines after the typhoon Yolanda pounded the region.

 

Shortly before lunch, the door to the incident command post was opened by a Philippines military policeman who ushered in naval officer Lieut. Cdr. K Suzuki of the Japanese defense forces. Suzuki thereby became the first Japanese military officer to engage with his Philippine counterparts since his country's former imperial army was defeated there in June 1945, the redoubtable US general Douglas MacArthur having returned the previous October as he had promised when leaving in March 1942.

 

Unlike the charismatic US general, the Japanese did not return following their December 1941 bombing and invasion of the Philippines in the wake of their attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

While the name of MacArthur remains familiar in the central Philippines where he is revered, with several villages and areas named after him, no Japanese military has been back, at least on official duty, since the end of the second World War.

 

The notion of the Japanese military working in partnership with the Philippine military, and of being welcomed in such a role, would have been unthinkable – until last Friday.

 

The Japanese invasion, occupation and temporary rule in Leyte and Samar provinces in the central Philippines, where typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it is known here, did its worst, does not bring back happy memories. Occupying soldiers conducted themselves in the brutish manner that attended their war behavior across Asia.

 

'So afraid'

 

"We were hiding in holes dug under the floor of our homes," Eulalia Macaya (74) told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "The Japanese soldiers were patrolling but we couldn't see much of them. We could only see their boots. We were so afraid."

 

Beatrice Bisquera (91) recalled hiding in the mountains, something not possible now, she suggested, since the typhoon had stripped the hills: "Now there's nowhere to hide."

 

When he entered the incident command post room, Suzuki had the weight of such history on his shoulders. After the door was closed, he doubtless bowed to his new colleagues in the traditional manner, laying that history to rest and opening a new chapter. Underscoring the significance of the moment, Suzuki was accompanied by two Japanese diplomats: Gsugomu Nakagawa, minister at the Japanese embassy in Manila, and Shoji Otake, Japan's consul in Cebu.

 

Since the typhoon struck, key figures in the multinational civil and military disaster relief operation have sat at a dining room table in the incident command post, discussing and planning how to get help to the victims of Yolanda. The walls are covered in large-scale maps showing the areas of destruction and where help is needed.

 

With sources from Zamboanga del Norte Research Team, Wikipedia, New York Times and The Irish times

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China, India, Brazil and South Africa refused cut their carbon emissions; Philippines suffered disastrous effects

Protesters at the UN's 19th climate change conference in Warsaw. Greenpeace said the outcome meant increased civil disobedience against new coal plants and oil rigs would be needed to prevent catastrophic climate change. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters Kacper Pempel.

 

Compromise climate deal reached in Warsaw but critics brand it inadequate

 

Countries to indicate their 'contributions' to cutting emissions in early 2015

 

The UN's 19th climate change conference in Warsaw narrowly avoided collapse at the weekend after marathon talks produced a compromise deal that optimists believe is "just enough" to pave the way for an international agreement in Paris in two years' time.

 

Amid scenes of high drama at plenary sessions, two-hour "huddles" involving key players and deep divisions between rich and poor nations, bleary-eyed delegates from more than 190 countries who had been negotiating through the night finally agreed to move the process forward.

 

Although nobody was entirely satisfied with the outcome, it was agreed that all countries would indicate what "contributions" they would make to cut greenhouse gas emissions in advance of the Paris conference, so the adequacy of their efforts could be examined by others.

 

Both the EU and the US pressed for a firm timetable for countries to "place their cards on the table" in order to avoid a repetition in Paris of the chaotic Copenhagen summit in 2009, which was attended by more than 120 heads of state or government – many of them ill-prepared.

 

The Warsaw meeting also agreed to establish a "loss and damage mechanism" to help poorer countries cope with the consequences of global warming, as well as provide "increasing levels" of aid for adaptation and a set of rules to reduce deforestation and degradation of tropical rainforests.

 

Hahanapin kita kasama ang mga kaibigan mo sa "Kaibigan.Me" (www.Kaibigan.me )

 

Climate aid

 

At the Copenhagen summit, developed countries pledged to provide climate aid of $100 billion per year after 2020 – 10 times the amount given annually from 2010 to 2012 – but in Warsaw they were not prepared to set an intermediate target showing how this could be achieved.

 

"We have seen essential progress. But let us again be clear that we are witnessing ever more frequent extreme weather events, and the poor and vulnerable are already paying the price," said UN climate chief Christiana Figueres. "Now governments . . . must go back to do their homework."

 

European commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard said the Warsaw conference, which ran for two weeks, showed "how challenging the way to an ambitious result in Paris will be". "But the last hours also showed that we are capable of moving forward."

 

One of the sticking points was a renewed insistence by China, India, Brazil and South Africa that only developed countries would have to make commitments to cut their emissions – a position described as "astonishing" by US climate envoy Todd Stern.

 

The EU also insisted that "all countries must contribute to the future reduction efforts", not just those subscribing to the UN's Kyoto Protocol, which now account for only 15 per cent of global emissions. The eventual compromise was to substitute "contributions" for "commitments" in the draft text.

 

Referring to the requirement for all countries to table their contributions well in advance of the Paris conference, if possible by early 2015, Danish environment minister Martin Lidegaard commented: "If we don't do our homework before we meet, then we won't get an agreement when we meet."

 

Jennifer Morgan, director of the Washington-based World Resources Institute's climate and energy programme, said: "Country representatives now need to return home to make significant progress on their work-plans and national offers that can become the backbone of a new climate agreement."

 

But Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the British government's seminal 2006 report on the economics of climate change, said the outcome in Warsaw was "simply inadequate" when compared to the scale and urgency of the risks associated with a failure to curb the growth in emissions – now at record levels.

 

Alden Meyer, veteran observer from the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: "There are some very difficult political issues that will need to be addressed over the next two years if we are going to have a successful outcome."

 

Frustrating

 

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, expressed the hope that Warsaw would not be portrayed as a complete failure "even if, as often, the slow speed of these negotiations is very frustrating, as seen from a climate scientist perspective".

 

But Martin Kaiser, head of the Greenpeace delegation, which was among those who walked out of the conference last Thursday, said the outcome "sends a clear signal that increased civil disobedience against new coal plants and oil rigs is needed to prevent catastrophic climate change".

 

Warsaw deal main points:

 

Emissions

 

Countries agreed to announce plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions "well in advance" of the crucial summit in Paris in December 2015 and "by the first quarter of 2015 for those in a position to do so".

 

Finance

 

Despite a 2009 promise of $100 billion per year in climate aid for poor countries from 2020, no mid-term target was set. The text merely urges developed countries to provide "increasing levels" of aid.

 

Loss and damage

 

The conference agreed a new "Warsaw International Mechanism" to provide expertise, and possibly aid, to help developing nations cope with losses from extreme events related to climate change.

 

Deforestation

 

Agreement was reached on REDD+, a framework to tackle deforestation in tropical countries, with the new Green Climate Fund playing a key role in channeling finance for projects to protect rainforests.

 

Philippines vulnerable to climate change, consul general says

 

Typhoon survivors seek refuge inside Redemptorist Church in Tacloban on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Leyte province, central Philippines. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press)

Speaks of 'extraordinary' typhoon, nation's struggle to become industrialized economy

The consul general for the Philippines in Toronto says her country's economy, devastated by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), has long been held back by the many tropical storms that come ashore every year.

 

Sell your products online free at "Philippines Online Shopping Mall" (www.PilipinasMall.com)

 

Analysts describe the Philippine economy as newly industrialized, as it transitions from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing.

 

But in a CBC interview with Mary Wiens for Metro Morning, Consul General Junever Mahilum-West said it's still a developing country and vulnerable to extreme weather because of geography and climate change.

 

"No one has accounted for the total destruction or loss of life we've experienced through typhoons," she said. "Without these natural disasters, we would be an industrial economy by now; we are an outward-looking economy, but what I'm saying is that we are in a very vulnerable part of the world, and one of the most vulnerable to climate change."

 

The typhoon that struck on Nov. 8 was "extraordinary" even for Filipinos, who are used to these storms, she said. "We had plans, but they were swept away."

 

Close to 20 tropical cyclones or strong storms pound the Philippines in a typical year, with up to half of these making landfalls.

 

The United Nations estimates Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) has affected about 11 million people in 41 provinces. It was one of the most powerful recorded typhoons to hit land, killing about 4,000 people and leaving four million homeless.

 

A Philippine official launched a hunger strike last week to pressure a UN climate change conference to come up with concrete steps to fight global warming.

 

Naderev Sano, a member of the Philippine Climate Change Commission, told the Washington Times he was fasting "in solidarity with my countrymen who are now struggling for food back home" — including his own brother, whom Sano said "has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands."

 

Junever Mahilum-West, responding to criticism that the Philippine national government has been slow to react to the disaster, said it has been difficult to get aid to victims and that first responders were themselves victims.

 

"We have to treat this as a new normal and look at quickness of response and who will respond in case first responders are victimized."

 

She said you also have to consider that some people are living on spillways, the areas where water tends to go. Those are hazardous areas, but because Filipinos are exposed to so many disasters, they won't leave, she said.

 

With report from The Irish Times and CBC News Toronto

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CNN to investigate "EPAL"ation" of VP Binay from foreign aids printing his name; Philippine media and government ignored it

Netizens Photo compared "EPAL 'ation" of Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay compared to the Heartily help from Davao City through Mayor Rudy Duterte

 

Philippine honorable vice President Jejomar Binay garnered dishonor for hi famous infamous act for printing his name to the relief goods from government fund distributed to the victims during the earthquake hit Bohol Province last October 15, 2013.

 

Not proven with more concrete evidence as photos could be edited or photoshop, the issue dragged to the most disastrous typhoon Yolanda when netizens cried foul accusing VP Binay for printing his name to the relief goods aid from Germany.

 

Netizens cried foul for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) holding the relief goods from Germany and demanding taxes for its entry but later then allowed after being lambasted by the pool of netizens criticizing BOC and the Aquino government.

 

The Custom's stoppage for the relief goods from Germany for taxation chained to an accusation that Binay printed his names to those relief goods and photos were submitted to the CNN that collects hundreds of thousands views and criticisms.

 

Online criticism hit Binay calling him as "EPAL".  During the previous years Anti-Epal Law meets resistance from 'epals' in Law makers House according to Inquirer News on 2011.

 

Binay's EPAL"ation" would violate the Article 9 section 1 of the "Anti Epal bill" and if proven guilty would be punishable to not less than 6 months - 1 year imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office (Section 8 penalties and violations)

 

Read and download Anti-Epal Bill from this link

 

(Photo from Facebook)

Are Philippine politicians using typhoon aid to their advantage?

 

(CNN) -- As money pours in to help the victims of Super Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan), some Filipinos claim that politicians are trying to use the tragedy to win votes.

 

Six submissions with photographs showing relief trucks and aid bearing the names of local and national politicians have cropped up on CNN iReport. Together, these reports have been viewed more than 1.5 million times since they were uploaded in the past week.

 

While difficult to verify, the pictures show tarpaulins, bags, canisters, flip-flops and even bags of ramen noodles bearing the logos, names and photos of three politicians and the wife of one politician.

 

Local media haven't covered this issue much, but Filipinos have a word for it: "epal," Tagalog for someone butting in where not needed. It could also describe the act of politicians grandstanding for political gain during a disaster.

 

The debate over this has ballooned online among Filipinos and the diaspora. As these images have garnered so much attention, we wanted to clarify what we know about them and what we have left to decipher.

 

The iReport submissions have been shared widely on social media. In a matter of a week, one report had received more than 900,000 page views, and another had more than 500,000 views. The bulk of the traffic -- almost 90% -- is coming from people posting the links on Facebook, and the magnitude is unprecedented for iReport, according to CNN data.

 

Described as one of the worst storms ever to make landfall, Super Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) killed more than 5,000 people and caused catastrophic damage to many parts of the Philippines as it plowed across the country on November 8.

 

Panoramic photo shows "Yolanda" (Haiyan) devastation

 

Rescue and relief operations have proved daunting, with an estimated 4 million left displaced.

 

How to help Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) survivors

 

Patrick Fuller, a spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross, said he had seen some evidence that politicians were getting involved in the delivery of aid.

 

"I've seen vans or small pickup trucks distributing small-scale aid with a politician's face on the side," he said from the hard-hit city of Tacloban.

 

"We don't need or want to see the politicization of aid. We want the aid to go where it is needed most."

 

See the files for "EPAL" photos and Ati-Epal Law here

 

However, he added that first responders like the ones he witnessed shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. "You've got to remember, they are bringing in relief that is needed, and that keeps people going until the more sustained effort picks up.

 

"It doesn't obstruct us, but we do need to ensure that relief is well-coordinated with local, regional and national authorities. We don't want to load up a truck with supplies for 1,000 families and find that someone else has come in this morning."

 

One of three politicians coming under fire is Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay. Photos posted on iReport show Binay's face on a tarp on the back of a truck and the vice president's logo on blue drawstring bags of relief goods.

 

However, Joey Salgado, a spokesman for Binay, said the photos with blue relief bags and a truck bearing the vice presidential seal were taken in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

 

"The photos are currently being recirculated online to make them appear they were intended for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda," he said Wednesday, using the storm's name in the Philippines.

 

Salgado said the relief bags distributed by his office for "Yolanda" (Haiyan)'s victims were packed in plain white plastic bags, not blue ones like in the photos. The vice presidential office stopped using the tarpaulins with Binay's image more than a year ago, he said.

 

However, a collection of photos submitted to iReport does show white plastic bags bearing Binay's name and logo.

 

"This is how some of the Philippine government officials will behave when there's calamity," a Filipino expat from Dubai named Rogel Tura wrote on CNN iReport. The Cebu, Philippines, native shared a series of photos that have circulated widely online.

 

"They take advantages of 'helping' by putting their names on the relief goods. It's a very strategic way in putting their name on the donations or any forms of assistance to advertise their name for the next election."

 

However, Salgado explained that these labeled relief bags came from a local partner in Iloilo.

 

"These bags were donated by a supporter of the vice president from Iloilo and did not come from the Office of the Vice President," he said. "Relief goods repacked by OVP staff at the vice president's office were placed in plain white plastic bags. Relief goods from the VP's supporter were bundled with those from the OVP and were distributed in Iloilo.

 

"It was the initiative of our local partners to put the stickers on the bags," Salgado said of these photos, which were taken during Binay's visit to Iloilo on November 13. "Since the stickers were placed without the authorization of the OVP, they were ordered removed."

 

Most humanitarian organizations label their aid, according to the World Food Programme.

 

"This is a time-honored practice in humanitarian aid to help draw recognition to those countries providing assistance," said Steve Taravella, senior spokesman for the WFP, based in Washington.

 

"In virtually every emergency, you'll see bags of rice or boxes of cooking oil marked clearly with the name of the country that provided that donation," he said.

 

However, Taravella said, in his experience globally, he had not seen aid labeled with the names or photos of politicians.

 

While the motives behind the labeled aid are unclear, the perception that politicians may be misusing the relief effort for political gain has left a bad taste in some people's mouths.

 

""Yolanda" (Haiyan) victims are dying and suffering for hunger. I can't just watch and do nothing," Tura wrote. "This is my way of helping, telling my fellow Filipinos to wake-up and don't be lured with money and sweet promises during elections."-  CNN

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Typhoon Yolanda unveiled Weak Philippine Military with bikes to deliver aid; Corruption and doubled price equipment purchased from Korea seen

Soldiers and residents unloaded food aid from a United States Navy helicopter in Hernani, the Philippines

Philippine army during the recent years purchased hundreds of military trucks and service vehicles from Kia Motors Korea to replace the aging military trucks but seen to be doubled price from the Military inventory.

 

An insider who has access to the inventories for Philippine Army trucks and vehicles is doubtful for the prices reflected in each unit as seen to be doubled from the actual price released by Kia Motors.

 

"Sir kung hindi doble ang presyo ng pag bili natin ayon sa ating inventory, seguro doble o triple pa ang dami ating mga trucks ngayon.  Nai compare ko ang price mula sa kaibigan kung sundalo rin sa ibang bansa na humingi ng Quotation sa Korea at ibinigay sa akin ang complete list. Doon ko nakita na ang presyo ng pag bili natin ay doble kumpara sa totoong presyo ng pag binta ng Kia Motors. Sa totoo lang kulang talaga ang mga trucks natin, marami pang mga remote camps ang nag tityaga nalang sa pinaglumaan, at halos hindi na magagamit na mga trucks. Limited din kasi ang budget para sa PA kaya tiis nalang muna kung anong meron" an insider said.  

 

Sa totoo lang kailangan ko ng bagong Kaibigan, saan kaya pwede? Madali yan dude tambay ka lang sa www.kaibigan.me

 

(Sir, if the price of our purchased military trucks from Kia Motors Korea is not doubled or even tripled; maybe we could have so many trucks now. I have compared it to the price list from a soldier friend in the other country who asked for quotation from Kia Motors Korea and he forwarded me the price list and I found out that our price is doubled. The fact is we are in short of Military trucks. We have so many remote camps that are in need of but we don't have enough and they are just trying to use anything available which are already old and fully depreciated as long as it could still run for a short miles. We also have a limited budget for the PA so we will just use anything available for the moment.)

 

Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a sole maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976 and now producing several trucks for the Military use; KM42 series, KM45 Series, KM25 Series, KM50 Series, KM100 Series, and BV Series. (Kia Motors Quotation request Website)

KIA Motors Defense produces six type/series of Military vehicles:

• KM42 Series (alternately K 131) quarter ton Utility Vehicle
• KM-45 Series half ton to three quarter ton modern variant of the M715
• KM-25 Series variant of the M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck
• KM-50 Series variant of the M809 Truck both as 5 ton and 7 ton variants
• KM-100 Series 8×8 heavy tactical truck
• K53 Series similar to the Swedish BV amphibious tracked vehicle
•  

Watch the video for the recent purchased of the Philippines army here in this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6EFt6WZ93Y ‎

 

Typhoon Response Highlights Weaknesses in Philippine Military

 

As American cargo planes and military helicopters zipped across the sky above this decimated city, ferrying badly needed supplies to typhoon survivors, Philippine soldiers were working with what little they had — relying on motorcycles and boats to ferry messages between the army's provincial headquarters and stricken municipalities along the eastern coast of Samar, some of them more than a hundred miles away.

 

In an acknowledgment of the army's lack of sophisticated equipment, a spokesman said on Monday, "The courier system is our means of communications."

 

The destructive fury of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) quickly laid bare the limitations of the Philippine government's disaster preparation and relief capabilities, but increasingly, it is also focusing an unflattering spotlight on the nation's military — an overstretched, poorly funded force that has been criticized for its late arrival to the disaster zone.

 

Wala na final na 'to ibinta ko nalang to online mabuti nalang libre kung maibenta sa www.PilipinasMall.com  

 

Officials have attributed the delay in part to a shortage of large troop carriers. But even when several thousand soldiers were finally able to fan out across the devastated islands of Samar and Leyte, their work was, and continues to be, hampered by a lack of provisions including food, heavy equipment and communications technology needed when cellphone service is down.

 

In addition to clearing roads, transporting relief supplies and evacuating the wounded, the military is responsible for helping the Philippine National Police maintain security during natural disasters.

 

Here in Guiuan, one of the largest cities affected by Yolanda (Haiyan), military personnel have been left to fend for themselves, procuring meals from local residents who cook amid the rubble of their homes while the soldiers await orders that sometimes never arrive. Some of the same problems have plagued the Coast Guard. When asked why they had spent the past four days sitting in the mayor's storm-battered offices, two Coast Guard sailors on Monday shrugged and pointed to their useless cellphones.

 

"We're waiting for instructions," one of them, Cliff Turallo, said with apparent embarrassment.

 

Analysts say the aftermath of the typhoon is a particularly jarring reminder of how badly Philippine forces have fared since the American military withdrew in the early 1990s, after negotiations over a new treaty faltered amid a passionate debate over national sovereignty. In a poor country struggling to overcome a culture of graft that has starved government budgets for years, Filipino leaders have consistently directed resources toward other priorities — in part, analysts say, because they still view the United States, a strong ally, as a safety net. The military budget itself has been pilfered by corrupt government officials under previous administrations.

 

Now that the typhoon has exposed these weaknesses, analysts expect renewed debate about whether the Philippines should allow the United States to do what it has been asking to do: cycle more American troops through the country as part of the Obama administration's attempt to act as a counterweight to China.

 

Basta Bisaya, ambungan ug maanyag. Bisaya ba ka? Apil sa www.higala.me

 

With its own conflict looming — China is challenging Philippine claims to some strategic maritime territories — the Philippines has also begun to try to build its own resources. But for the moment, the country has little of the advanced equipment that can be used in rescue and recovery efforts as well as in conflict.

 

Instead, Philippine forces have had to make do with increasingly obsolete hand-me-downs. A lack of parts has mothballed much of the nation's fleet of a dozen C-130 cargo planes, the workhorses of many relief operations worldwide. The military said it had only three functioning transport aircraft to deliver troops and supplies in the days after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan); some soldiers said there were just two. Similar problems have grounded 28 of the Air Force's 44 Huey helicopters, according to IHS Jane's Defense Weekly.

 

Although it has ordered 12 fighter jets from South Korea, the Philippine Air Force currently has no fighter planes, and the navy relies on a handful of aged American surplus vessels. With report from New York Times

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