10 people you should know if you're coming to the philippines

Here's a short list of people who you should try to be familiar with if you plan a visit to the Philippines. Try sprinkling a few of these in conversation. A mix of showbiz, politics and sports , one witty observer summed up Pinoy conversation as PBA: politika, basketball, artista. Who's on your list?

1. Jose Rizal-our national hero and definitely a name you will read on street signs, buildings, banks, match boxes, etc. He was shot for writing against the friars and the church during the Spanish regime.

2. Gloria Arroyo-current president of the Philippines. It's always a good idea to know who the big boss is coz you don't know who you might bump into in the airport.

3. Fernando Poe Jr. Called the King of Philippine movies, he was an action star who ran against Arroyo and some say the true winner of the 2004 elections. He died before he could substantiate this claim.

4. Manny Pacquiao-most popular Pinoy boxer. Most sought-after commercial endorser. Buoyed by his immense popularity and probably misguided by his friends, he ran for Congress and lost.

5. Nora Aunor-one of the country's best actresses. Called the Superstar and idolized by the masses, she is the epitome of the troubled artist, her career soars to great heights in movies like Himala, and sinks to pitiful depths as in her arrest for carrying illegal drugs. Now based in the States, she is said to be married to her female manager.

6. Vilma Santos-called the Star for all seasons(showbiz writers have a penchant for titles) there has never been a rivalry like that of Nora and Vilma. Fans actually fought in the street over who was the bigger star. She is now the governor of Batangas

7.Sharon Cuneta-dubbed the Megastar, she is not the best thespian or songstress, but a mix of luck, talent and undeniable charisma has made her an enduring star and top ad endorser. She is also partly responsible for the election of her husband as senator (see how showbiz and politics mix here?)

8. Robert Jaworski - called the Living Legend, a basketball player and coach you either love or hate, he is probably the only basketball pro who still played till his 50s.He was also once a senator of the republic(Yikes!)

9. Ferdinand Marcos. While some still consider him a great president, make no mistake about it, he was the bad guy whose legacy is still felt today. He and his wife Imelda placed the country in debt while enriching themselves for 20 years. Under Martial Law, the people lived in fear and protesters killed or tortured. We continue to pay for debts incurred under his rule while Imelda and her kin live in luxury.

10. Ninoy Aquino-the man who would be the thorn in Marcos' side till the end. He was jailed by Marcos for opposing his New Society and later exiled to the US. He flew back to Manila and was assassinated. It was a national outrage. His death sparked a massive eruption of unrest which culminated in the toppling of the Marcos government in Feb. 1986.








Some notable runners-up: Cory Aquino-widow of Ninoy and first female president of the Philippines; Lea Salonga-first Pinoy Tony award-winner; Joseph 'Erap' Estrada-action star-turned-disgraced president; Kris Aquino-daughter of Ninoy and Cory, our very own Paris Hilton/Oprah wannabe.

kusina salud and ugu bigyan's place

For father's day, we were invited by tita gina to have lunch in san pablo's kusina salud, owned by patis tesoro's family. i had heard a lot about it from anton's blog and i really wish we could have taken our balikbayan relatives on the viaje del sol experience...the buffet was ok, the best dish was the flavorful lengua. the thai soup was just toooo spicy to even sip! we then went around the eclectically designed property which included a shop and ukay -ukay which even sold cassette tapes, romance novels and old sunscreen (di ba may expiry yun?) i think they were taking the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to the extreme.

we then went to ugu bigyan's house in quezon which was an expansive area of brick and wood and pottery. we weren't even sure the owners were accepting visitors. we just went in and went around as we pleased. we admired the open-air structures that probably serve as function halls for receptions and pottery seminars. there were even rooms for guests that were left open to the public and i felt a little sorry for the poor bloke who would sleep there later because so many people must have come by that room and try out his bed. such is the filipino concept of privacy, (there is no privacy)heehee.

duhat and apple mango

One of the great things about summer at our place is the abundance of fruits my Pa grows. Aside from the indian mango in our backyard, we also have huge apple mangoes that just grew accidentally in front of our gate. The duhat tree also just grew in front of our gate so it's always too tempting to grab the fruits even if they're not ripe yet. Nothing beats picking fresh fruits right off the tree when you're having the munchies. We also have chicos and on some other month, caimitos.Pa has a green thumb which I, unfortunately, did not inherit. We once had a banana tree, guavas, patola, okra and even corn!Meanwhile, my potted herbs didn't even make it past a few weeks. Oh well.

pancake house

could you BE any vaguer?

i don't know why...this made me laugh. that's all she wrote. wala man lang clue kung ano yung nawala di ba?

good news and bad news in RP elections

Most of the votes for the local elective posts have been counted and the good news is that being a celebrity is not enough to get elected in the philippines anymore! yehey! this is a painful and expensive lesson not just for wannabes richard gomez and cesar montano, but also for manny pacquiao ( who is photographed below, after the counting ), lito lapid and anjo yllana.

tito sotto looks like he won't waste taxpayers' money in the senate. good news uli, ate vi is set to be batangas gov! too bad di nay makaka-team up si christopher de leon...sayang, can you imagine the batangas capitol with ate vi and boyet? parang may shooting araw-araw!

Mano po 5: Ala 'eh!
Ate Vi: Vice Boyet, nasaan ang pondo ng bayan?
Boyet: I'm soooorry, hindi ko alam! Baka na kay Val!
Ate Vi: Si Val, si Val, si Val! Lagi na lang si Val! Wala syang ginagawang masama!
Boyet: Akala mo lang wala! Pero meron! meron! meron!!!(sampalan!) (halikan!) The end.

Well, it seems Boyet will share the same fate as ex-wife Nora Aunor na natalo sa Bicol. Pero ang kanyang look-alike, si Teri Onor, landslide winner as vice mayor ng Bataan! Ate, kuya! Walang Himala----po!!!

Nomad's

On mother's day, we woke up earlier than usual because I wanted to go swimming before the rainy season starts. But we wanted a place that was nearby and not too expensive. We nixed the idea of Tagaytay since we just went there. Ma vetoed Water Fun in Sucat. So where to go? Sneak into a fancy hotel? Luckily, Twinx knew a co-teacher who owned a members- only club in Merville called Nomad's. She got us in for free(Yey!!!) and we were able to spend the whole day just lazing by the pool and watching mostly Europeans play cricket and football and lawn bowling. You have to buy ticket stubs to pay for food and other items (just like in school fairs) which is not so convenient for us but very profitable for the club. By the end of the day, we still had about a hundred pesos' worth of stubs, which was not enough for ma to buy a souvenir cap so instead of buying another bunch of tickets worth P200, we just bought drinks and ate merienda at greenwich, just outside the subdivision.

How I wish we could have our own swimming pool! But with our area's water shortage problem, that will just have to remain a dream for now.

election pinoy style

Isn't it interesting that most everything a Pinoy does turns into a celebration? Elections here resemble a fiesta. Campaign posters are made to look like banderitas. There's music, there are entertainers, and food all around.

i went to the gym near our parish church where we were to vote. jon and ma were there because they were volunteers for the PPCRV (parish pastoral council for responsible voting). we brought them water, chairs and a flashlight, just in case there was a power outage at night.

we were able to fill up our ballots quickly as most voters would probably wait till the last minute to go to their polling precinct.

stone age in 2007

last time, we had tables with plywood partitions to use as voting booths. this time around, we didn't even have tables! people had to write on monobloc chairs while squatting on the floor!

Dirty finger. Me showing off my indelible ink stain

Antipolo

Nuestra Senora de Paz y Bienviaje

I got a call at work from my sister telling me we were going to Antipolo the next day because we always go in May. So, off we went and naturally, the church was filled to the rafters and spilled all the way out to the parking lot.

Lots of people go here especially before leaving for foreign shores or have their new vehicles blessed because this is the church of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. I go because we get to buy kasuy and suman and other fruits after mass.
Summer fruits: Duhat, kasuy still attached to its fruit, lanzones,mangoes, mangosteen, santol, green mangoes and siniguelas

Not the horse we grew up with. This new papier mache horse rocks like a hobbyhorse

I find the new additions they've made to the altar a tad too over- the- top. All the gold and the large paintings are distracting...but I do like the stained glass.
Jesus works out---he has abs!

Tagaytay Highlands

Ma at the clubhouse. Note the fog at 9 in the morning



We’ve been to Tagaytay before but going to the Highlands was like taking a peek into the lives of the rich and privileged. It’s kinda funny to see Swiss-style cabins in the Philippines but I guess that reflects some people’s dreams to live abroad or maybe a cheap way to pretend you’re in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by cold weather and pine trees. It’s supposed to be for members only with fees reaching more than 3x my monthly salary. Luckily, ma knew a member who graciously helped us get in as guests. Getting there is a bit difficult especially when your car is over 30 years old. Pa was so worried about how we were going to get out of the place because the way to the exit looked soooo steep but yeah, our car rocks!Jon at the peak which offers a grand view of the city and Taal lake

Too bad we didn’t get a room at the Swiss chalets with a real fireplace. I guess that’s for members. We only got a standard room and a superior room at the Highlands Inn which was ok, but rather ordinary. We were a bit early for check-in so we were just given our guest card which we were to use all throughout our stay. One doesn’t pay with cash at the highlands. One simply signs for it and the member will be charged at the end of the month I guess so the only cash we shelled out was for the tips for the waiters. (There was a note that said do NOT tip the waiters, but we did anyway)We went to the mini zoo, the gardens, and most of the touristy places but compared to Corregidor, there’s really not much to do unless you’re willing to pay for it. Even the use of the swimming pool isn’t free (at least P100 per person)
So if you have plans of going there, here are tips on how to have a ‘sulit’ vacation:
-Sneak bottled water inside your room! It’s ridiculously expensive if you use the one inside your mini-ref.
-While you’re at it, bring snacks and fruits as well!
-use the shuttle ride to go wherever you want (it’s free!)
-We didn’t go to the steakhouse because we knew the steaks cost P1000 on average but everywhere else, the food was relatively affordable at around P200 per person.
-if you can, ride the funicular and cable car as well (it’s free too). Just remember that the cable car is only operational every hour from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and more often on weekends. The funicular (which we weren’t able to ride) runs only every 2 hours.
-While check-out time is at 12 noon, you don’t have to leave right away. You can go all over the place for as long as you want. Just remember to return your guest card so you can get a receipt of how much the member who sponsored your stay will be charged so you can pay him later.
-here are some of the prices of some activities that might be of interest :
animal farm: P63
country club pool: P150 (weekends & holidays P215)
camp highlands pool :P100 (weekends P150)
horseback riding: P255/hour
bowling: P95/game
internet P120/hour---what?!?
All in all, we really didn’t have as much fun here as we did in Corregidor. We’re happier in simple places that are cheap and culturally interesting. In fact, save for the funicular and cable car, everything in the highlands can be had cheaper in most hotels in Tagaytay.

We waited for almost an hour for the cable ride!

Llamas at the animal farm
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edited to add more prices (2007)

at the Sports Center Lunch set 1 -P190

set 2-P180

Baked fish fillet- P200

Grilled hamburger -P200

Southern fried chicken -P200

they do accept Senior citizen's cards, though

at Golfer's Lounge

Filipino breakfast- P235(best meal in our entire stay)

at the country club

Carbonara-P250

Penne-P250

Calderetang kambing-P220

Yakiudon-P165

at Geraldine's (Americana-style soda shop just like in Archie comics)

banana split-P165

Roastbeef sandwich-P95

Peaches and cream-P165

Lucky me noodles+hot water-P60!

Higlands Inn room rates (no breakfast):

Superior room P3660/night

Starndard room P3050/night for 2pax

extra person add P336