Malacanang endorses Design Against the Elements

Recently, I was able to step inside Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines and where the seat of power of the Republic is located. It was a rare occasion that you get into the Palace and supposedly get to meet the President. This was this once in a lifetime chance, when I was invited as a blogger to cover the Design Against the Elements launch.



As their website simply puts it, the "Design Against the Elements is a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. Spurred by the devastation wreaked in the Philippines by tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and driven by a powerhouse multidisciplinary group of organizations from the private, institutional, and government sectors, the project aims to draw together the most innovative minds in the fields of architecture, design, and urban planning to develop sustainable and disaster-resistant housing for communities in tropical urban settings."

The winning design will be built as a prototype disaster-resistant and livable eco-village in Taguig City, Metro Manila. The village will be the first green and disaster-resistant community in the country. It will provide a model that can be studied and replicated in similar areas. The finished project will house a marginalized community living in an environmental danger zone, giving them a sense of security, ownership, and awareness of sustainability that can be practiced at all levels in their everyday lives.

Contest details, mechanics, and everything you need are found in this website.


The President was supposed to be there, but at the last minute, it was announced that she cannot make it. And so, we were breaking protocol (they said) to proceed with the ceremony without the host, the President, in the hall.

For me it was better because I wouldn't want to see the President, not this current one, at least. The Malacanang, as an architectural structure, is really awesome and filled with history. You cannot help but really bask in the awesomeness of the Palace.


This is the hall where we usually see of the President walking down in pictures. This leads to the hall where all the official activities/functions of the President is held. The hall is filled with portraits of all the past Presidents of the Philippines. Adjacent the hall, we see the famous painting Blood Compact of Juan Luna. It's so huge and amazing!


A food blogger is always a food blogger. This is what we were served during the event. Since it was Friday, and the Palace is observing Lent, there was no meat in the food that was served.

In Praise of Cory Aquino by Anwar Ibrahim

IN PRAISE OF CORY AQUINO

"Cory Aquino’s life proved that one woman’s heroic response to adversity can transform a tribulation into a national triumph"

By Anwar Ibrahim
August 1, 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In assessing every notable figure of history, a vexing question arises: to what extent did greatness inhere in the person, and to what degree was it a product of the situation?

If great persons have their starts, as Gandhi said he did, it is often because a national or world crisis favors greatness.

Corazon Aquino’s rise to historical fame was much like John Kennedy’s ascension to soldierly bravery. “They sank my boat,” said Kennedy responding to the question of how he became a wartime hero.

“They killed my husband,” one imagines Cory Aquino would have said had she been asked how a homemaker became the first female President of the Republic of the Philippines.

If her husband Benigno Aquino personified Filipino courage in the face of oppression, as Jamie Cardinal Sin famously eulogized Ninoy at his funeral, Cory Aquino exemplified every surviving victim’s desire for redemption of a cause momentarily ground into dust by brute force.

Against what she felicitously described as the “guns, goons and gold” of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Cory Aquino rallied the forces to change the seemingly hopeless destiny of the Filipino masses under the initially bright but soon-to-be blighted Marcos presidency.

Just as her husband could have preferred the sterile comforts of exile to the savage threats to his physical safety upon his return home, likewise Cory could have retired from her slain husband’s cause and let the cup of destiny pass into the hands of another presumptive leader.

She didn’t let the cup pass. Instead she raised her murdered husband’s fallen banner, and after a two-and-a-half year struggle, hoisted it victoriously at the Malacanang Palace.

Thus she earned the undying gratitude of the Filipino people for returning their country to the ideals of its founding liberator, Jose Rizal, whom history recognizes as Asia’s first fighter for constitutional government by consent of the governed.

Cory Aquino’s struggle for and success at fortifying constitutional democracy in the Philippines was one of the signal battles in the last quarter of the 20th century. Oppressed masses in Asia, nay the world, touched their forelocks in gratitude to her for the inspiring example of her courage in the face of adversity.

The Malaysian people have a special reason to view her as an iconic figure. Their striving for a return of their country to the dispensation entrusted to it by its founding constitution mirrors hers and Ninoy’s successful struggle to return the Filipino nation to the promise of Rizal’s legacy.

My family, especially my wife Azizah, has a more intimate reason to be grateful to her for the generosity of her support during the years of my incarceration. Cory treated my wife and children as family, exemplifying the solidarity of all hearts that thirst for justice.

Azizah will convey in person the grief felt by Malaysians, particularly members of the party she leads, Keadilan, for the inspiration of her life’s achievement and the solicitude she showed us in our hour of acute need.

Our gratitude for her support knows no bounds; likewise our grief at her passing.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (14 months ago) found at Day Life.

Cory Aquino's funeral, August 5: Special Non-working Holiday

Cory’s funeral, Aug 5, a special non-working holiday
-- http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/02/09/cory%E2%80%99s-funeral-aug-5-special-non-working-holiday

-abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/02/2009 8:04 AM

Pasig River Ferry Experience

Harrell, Joey, Kat and I went on a cruise on the Pasig River Ferry xD

We met 07:45am in UP, then drove to Guadalupe station. We passed by a lot of oil depots, shantis, factories, St. Jude, Malacanang Palace, and got down at Escolta station.

It was just 20 pesos for students (from one station to wherever) It is an inexpensive mode of public transport. It was so awesome - it's even air conditioned! You also get serenaded by "slow rock" 70s sing-a-long.

I laud the Phil. government for its efforts in reviving Pasig. I hope it would continue for the better. :)

Oh yeah, keep your eyes open for the PSG (Presidential Security Group) who will ride from one of the stations. They'll make sure that everything is secured when the ferry passes Malacanang. Damn. I saw what is printed on the back of the 20 peso bill! Niceee. xD

We went to Binondo. It was Joey's first time. Had fun "touring" especially when Harrell visited his aunt. (details will remain a secret for Harrell's sake?) Ate at Wai-Ying, Harrell's choice. It was delish!!

We rode back from Escolta to Guadalupe, then we went to Rockwell to cool off and hang-out after. We rode back to UP, and, eventually, home. Fun Day!

- We don't have pictures of Malacanang bec. we were not allowed to do so for (national) security reasons?
- I must say that joey's driver drives damn well (fast)
- We should finish the DVD some other time, eh?