President GMA's SONA on Monday. Are you excited?

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is set to have her State of the Nation Address on Monday - July 28, 2008. Are you excited? There's a whole lot of hype in the news, with people discussing what she could possibly say, how she might very well deviate from the real issues at hand... even what she's going to wear has been featured in the evening news.

Well, I'm not the least bit excited - she's done it so many times now I don't find much difference between this year and last year. But apparently this year's talk will be more on the newly-crafted National Social Welfare Program (NSWP) aimed to help the country ride out from the high prices of food and oil.

The program hopes to mobilize local government units, business corporations, business organizations, religious and church organizations, non-government organizations, and foreign donors.

Arroyo will also report on the accomplishments of her past SONA promises, particularly on infrastructure, which highlighted her speech last year.

Well good luck to that!

Good Boy Image John Lloyd Cruz

John Lloyd Cruz just turned 25 this month and was kind enough to share the blessings with families in Barangay Planas, Porac. He provided school supplies and a good deal of snacks (as he endorses Greenwich so I imagine there was enough free pizza to go around) when he visited the RVM Sisters’ House, Katutubo Health Village Center and Katutubo Village Elementary School.

It's nice to see celebrities share.

Supladahay sa Salon? Angel Locsin vs Claudine Barreto

An article in today's Inquirer mentioned that there was a skirmish in a salon in a Manila between Angel Locsin and Claudine Barreto over commercial endorsements. Angel Locsin definitely looks like the hotter commodity in terms of advertising when you compare the 2. Come on, Angel is just younger and hotter.

It's rather childish so if it's true we should boycott both of them. I'm rather inclined to say it's not true though, although I have heard that Claudine is difficult to work with. Not that familiar with Angel Locsin - just that her recent television series - Lobo just ended today in fact. Not exactly that thrilling to me. I've missed a lot of episodes because they kept on delaying the ending.

Will look forward to more gossip about these 2 that's for sure

Love Triangle: Jake Cuenca, Roxanne Guinoo And... Bea Alonzo?

Now here's some juicy bit of speculation with a dash of gossip, Bea Alonzo may have been the reason Jake Cuenca and Roxanne Guinoo broke up? Hmmm....

Very intriguing. I have never been a fan of Jake Cuenca, I didn't really like his show "Palos" with Cesar Montana, which I hear is the guy's claim to fame.

He has one hot scene with Bangs but this wasn't the deal, apparently Roxanne Guinoo revealed that before the reports of alleged 'JakeCuenca-Bea Alonzo' affair circulated, she already saw the two going out together.

I think Bea is very attractive, even when she was a little bit chubbier in the past. Although I did hear she wasn't really that good of an actress. While Jake Cuenca I couldn't really care less about. He's hardly attractive, body looks okay but still... not worth all this attention I think

Judy Ann Santos And Ryan Agoncillo Engaged! Surprise? Not!

Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo are engaged! Big whopee! Surprise surprise... Not! They've been going out since forever, have made films and television commercials on their relationship or the excitement lack of it and have made enough money on their tandem to probably stop working.

I'm not fan at all, but if anything, this is the best way to get Judy Ann away from the Meralco fiasco. A great way to divert people from the real problems at hand, so I have to commend the distraction and the timing. Perfect!

Inevitable? Jeepney Fares at P10 And Taxi Fares Starting at P45?

This has got to be a cruel nightmare! If the rising price of groceries and gasoline wasn't enough, now commuters' fare will go up too. I do understand that jeepney and taxi drivers also suffer from the gas price increases and maybe this is truly necessary so they can make a decent living as well.

It just really hurts!

Cebu jeepney drivers will cry for a P10 minimum fare if incentives aren’t given by the government to cushion yesterday’s increase in fuel prices, the 18th round this year. A P10 minimum fare is reasonable for jeepney drivers, said Ryan Benjamin Yu, vice chairman of the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative Inc.

Commuters now pay P7 to ride the jeepney, after two rounds of 50-centavo increases were given on a provisional basis by the LTFRB this year while waiting for the drivers’ petition to be resolved. But according to Yu, the P1 buffer is not enough to offset the fuel price increases.

Given the relentless oil price increases, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Thompson Lantion said the agency is likely to approve a P1 fare increase for jeepneys and a P10 “add-on” in cab fares.

So I guess it's inevitable folks! Just be prepared to hand over your P10 in jeepney fare and an additional P10 to the taxi cab. Maybe I should just get a bike?

Sulpicio Lines Having Survivors Sign An Anti-Lawsuit Waiver For 20T Pesos Cash "Aid"

Cash Aid my cellulite ass! Sulpicio Lines just want people to shut up. It's sad that it has come to this. At the start I was quite sympathetic towards Sulpicio Lines, considering that the wrath of nature came upon heavily on them cost the lives of so many people. But then again, I feel even more sadness for all the survivors and the victims' families.

When I viewed that article today about Sulpicio Lines having survivors and victim sign-off on a no-case waiver to get their money, I was just aghast. Of course they'll sign and take the money. What else do they have to live by?

People just lost loved ones and relatives and belongings. I understand that Sulpicio Lines needs to run their business, but they are indeed sincere in giving "cash aid" then they will give it to people for no exchange!

Suing still costs money, if anything these survivors are not the enemy of Sulpicio Lines. There will be people with money who they have to convince otherwise but aid is supposed to be "aid" you know help/ assistance. Tainting it with legal bu***hit is just annoying

Survivor Update on MV Princess of the Star Tragedy

The man-hunt for survivors was suspended this week after it was found out that there were toxic chemicals on MV Princess of the Stars. Plugging a whole into the liner might release this chemical into the rest of the ocean damaging marine life as we know it.

So far more than 630 people are still missing and feared trapped inside the capsized MV Princess of the Stars, while 173 others were confirmed killed and 56 survived the accident, which appears to be the country's worst ferry disaster in two decades.

And here come more bad news, the ship was carrying a cargo of 10 metric tons of endosulfan, a restricted pesticide that attacks the central nervous system of humans.

M/V Princess of the Star Tragedy - the Government vs Sulpicio Lines

I think Sulpicio Lines should pay and should be responsible for what happened during the Frank typhoon - for the capsizing for their ship M/V Princess of the Star. As it should be the lives of all those people there depended on them.

But the government is just being a little too interfering when they attempt to take over a private company like Sulpicio lines. There have been troubles historically where the government's solution is to "take-over" that's a little too much micro-management I think. Take Meralco as an example.

To prove a point though, Sulpicio lines shouldn't have set sail when the typhoon was up and they should have made sure that their ship was in tip top shape. Losing all those lives shouldn't have happened. Although the government is trying to prove now that the liner was indeed "unstable" I think that it was a combination of the ship's instability, the uncontrollable weather conditions and negligence that led to that tragedy

Philippine Inflation Jumps to 14-Year High According to Bloomberg - You think? Jeepney fare's now P7!

I don't need Bloomberg to tell me Philippine inflation is way too high. I feel it every time I go to the groceries or even just trying to pay for fare for the jeepney, which is now P7 instead of P6 just when the year started.

It might even go higher given the gas prices which is now way past P60 per liter. The increase is like from day to day.

Even prices of food is way too expensive. Try to get a Kiddie meal and Jollibee and they're all close to P100 if not beyond it.

Consumer prices rose 11.4 percent in June from a year earlier, the National Statistics Office said in Manila today. Rising food and fuel prices, higher wages and a weaker peso are stoking inflation in the Philippines and prompted central bank Governor Amando Tetangco to raise interest rates last month.

Food, beverage and tobacco costs jumped 16.5 percent last month after gaining a revised 13.6 percent in May. Food accounts for half of the consumer price index.

Fuel, electricity and water inflation eased to 7.6 percent from 8.2 percent. ``Domestic pump-price increases triggered large price buildups across wide commodities and services groups,'' Tetangco said.

The peso has dropped 10.2 percent against the dollar this year, based on Bankers Association of the Philippines data, fanning inflation by making imports more expensive.

The Philippines will end up borrowing another $900 million in order to catch up with inflation. Half of which (less if we're lucky) will end up in the hands of corrupt government politicians.

Update on MV Princess Of The Star - Sulpicio Lines Tragedy

It was horrible what happened to MV Princess of The Star. The ship capsizing just in Philippine waters has made it rather difficult for anybody here to actually want to take another trip on sea again. Aside from that...

• Not only that the news is just peppered with all those people trying to find the people they love who were on that ship
• The cargo on that Sulpicio liner was also apparently carrying toxic chemicals that now have to be fetched and carefully too or marine life will die
• People are scared to eat fish because it might be contaminated. The vice mayor of Cebu, Mike Rama had to physically go and eat it in public just to show the people here that it's okay to eat fish. Isn't that tragic

The image to the right is not the MV Princess of the Star, but the way it capsized, it might as well will be. There has to be still hundreds of people dead in there as well as toxic chemicals that still have to be taken out. God help us all