Condolences

I heard from Tita Norma Pimentel that Gil Consunji's father passed away. My condolences to the family of Mr. Consunji. Gil is the husband of my cousin KAren Pimentel.

WELCOME HOME, MACKAY AND MATET!

My cousins Mackay and Matet are back! Mackay arrived from Dubai a few days after her sister Matet arrived from Canada. They went to Baguio a day after Mackay arrived and i heard that they're back in Cogeo... Welcome back!

Time to move on

As painful as the past few weeks have been, it is high time for all of us, orphans of the late Atty. Onesimo S. Banares and Edita Hidalgo Cacanindin to move on. They have done their part in rearing us, molding us into mature adults. It is time, not just for us, but for them to move on. These photos were taken after the cremation of my mother at the Heritage Park Crematorium near the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Me with my mother's cremated remains. Beside me is my uncle Jose Banares and my niece Carla Alexis Banares.

Tio Joventino, Tio Jose (Peping), Me (with mama's ashes), Tia Lilia and Carla Alexis.

My nephews Daniel, Jeremiah, Mario Jr., Gerona and Leandro

The Heritage Park Crematorium Chapel hallway

THANK YOU

The family of the late Editha Hidalgo Cacanindin Banares wishes to thank everyone who were there for us in our moment of sorrow. We would like to personally thank the Meralco family who showed their full support for our family, including their CEO and Chairman Mr. Manolo Lopez. Also, thank you the Cacanindin and Banares Clans who were also there for us. And to the countless others who were there, our profound appreciation to all of you. MARAMING SALAMAT PO SA INYONG PAKIKIRAMAY.

EDITA HIDALGO CACANINDIN BANARES (1932-2006)

At 5:00 o'clock this afternoon, my mother EDITHA HIDALGO CACANINDIN BANARES passed away. My mother had a stroke last Friday and was confined for 4 days at the Makati Medical center Acute Stroke Unit before being moved to a private room so that her children and relatives can spend time with her. Her pulse rate deteriorated around 4:30 pm today and doctors tried to revive her to no avail. Her remains will be laid in state at the Nacional Funeral Homes along Araneta Avenue, Quezon City. Cremation will follow at the Heritage Park in For Bonifacio near Libingan ng mga Bayani on Sunday, MArch 19, 2006 at 9:00 am.

MASSIVE STROKE

My mother was hit by a massive stroke and is now in the Acute Stroke Unit of the Makati Medical Center. Doctors at the hospital say that she may not recover, after discovering that her brain has been damaged "globally" and that we should be prepared for whatever happens. For our friends and relatives who wish to visit my mother should do so starting today. If anyone wishes to offer their assistance, financially or otherwise, please get in touch with us through my cell number 0917-2468-514 or call our home landline at 589-41-95. Thank You.

I'M SORRY

I know i said i would be posting pictures of our recent Bataan trip, but up to today i haven't been able to upload the pics from the camera to my PC. My apologies. I will do my best to post the pictures before the end of the week. The pictures we got from Bataan are cool! Thanks for understanding!

TAGAYTAY PICTURES

Yahoo! I finally got the copies of our trip to Tagaytay, thanks to my niece Katrine (www.katkatkatkat.blogspot.com). Hope you guys like the pictures!!!

Taken at the terrace of the Belle View unit in Tagytay Highlands.

It was a very foggy Sunday!

Inside the Highlands Sports Center

The Tagytay Higlands Garden (taken right after the mass)

A foggy view of Taal Volcano from our terrace

The brindge that crosses the clubhouse pool. In the background you can see the

huge cables of the cable car.

At the bridgway from the Sports Center to the Clubhouse with a

magnificent view of the Pagoda-style building.

A view of the Clubhouse pool area.

A very tranquil pond.

One of the many bridges you'll pass when you use the bridgeway.

Hehehehe. Napagod sa kakalakad. Nagpapahinga!

Tagaytay Hgihlands Greenhouse where you can buy fresh vegetables

and home-made salad dressings.

Ate Rose, Katrine, Bentot and Karla at the Greenhouse.

Clsoer view of the Greenhouse Bistro.

A cool resting area at the greenhouse bistro

At Gerladine's, a 50's style Diner. Yup, they have a working 50's jukebox!

NO COINS NEEDED! HEHEHEHEHE!

A very big tree in the heart of the Highlands.

Just to let you know how foggy it was that night...

and windy, too!!

SUNDAY AT THE HIGHLANDS

Last Sunday we marked the 2nd death anniversary of my dad (March 2) as well as my parent's 50th wedding anniversary (Feb. 29) , my niece Carla's birthday (March 1) and my late father's brithday as well (Feb. 16) at the Tagytay Highlands. We stayed at the Belle View where our unit had a magnificent view of Taal Volcano (which we almost didn't see owing ot the thick fog).

Thick fog blurs the view of the world-renowned Taal Volcano

At the highlands, we attended mass at their open-air chapel at the Highlands Garden (in between the Sports Center and the Clubhouse). We had lunch outside the Highlands, at TAALEÑA, where a cumbachero trio serenaded us with my father's favorite song, LOVE IS A MANY SPELNDORED THING. After lunch, we headed for ILOG NI MARIA where we checked out the bee farm as well as their store which sells honey and bees wax products from soaps to fat burners.

A beehive display at the ILOG NI MARIA Honeybee Farm

When we went back to Tagaytay Highlands, we went straight to Gerladine's Soda Fountain where we were treated to a 50's style diner complete with a working jukebox and American-sized servings of Fries, Burgers and Sundaes.

It was a memorable Sunday for the whole family.

NOTE: I WILL BE POSTING THE ENTIRE COLLECTION OF PICTURES OF OUR TRIP TO TAGYATAY SOON. THANKS!

JACKIE'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Here are some pics taken at the birthday celebration of Jackie Gabionza held February 18, 2006 with her friends.

PICTURES FROM CAMP PAG-IBIG

Last February 19, 2006, the Department of Education sponsored CAMP PAG-IBIG, a project for the Special Education students of the various public schools in Metro Manila. Here are some of the photos I took of the said event held at the Balara Filtration Plant in Quezon City, along with pics of interesting sites in Balara.

THE CAMP PAG-IBIG ARCH

Student and parents of the SPED students (that's my sister Rose in the foreground)

my niece Carla with my sister Rose at Balara Filtration Plant

banner of the San Juan Delegation

McDonald's Mascot Grimace at Camp Pag-ibig with the Camp Pag-ibig organizers

a fascinating fountain at the Balara Plant

The foutnain at the Balara Entrance

KUDOS TO PGMA

In behalf of the Pinoys for PGMA Movement, i would like to congratulate PGMA for declaring a state of emergency. This sends a strong signal that no one can push our president around! KUDOS!

ANOTHER MAGDALO CAPTURED

KUDOS TO THE ARMED FORCES AND THE PHIL. NATIONAL POLICE! Yesterday's capture of escaped Magdalo fugitive and traitor to the nation 1LT San Juan scores anotehr victory to the legitimate Arooyo government and a blow to the divisive Magdalo group. The trying-to-be elloquent San Juan went on a tirade which he probably thought was an insult to the government. He proudly stated that "this is the kind of justice i deserve for going against the illegitiamte government of arroyo". So was that an insult? He spent many years in the military and he cant even muster an insult worthy of his stature. tsk tsk.

WELCOME TO THE CHRISTIAN WORLD, CHELCCI ARIANNE STO. TOMAS

I was fortunate enough to have been asked to be godfather (along with friends Jhackie Gabionza and Poppo Zamora) of Adrian Aguirre and RAchelle Santo Tomas' daughter Chelcci Arriane last Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Carmel Chruch in Project 6. Reception followed at the Cafe de Chine of the Great Eastern Hotel along Quezon Avenue. To "inaanak" Chelcci Arianne, welcoem to teh christian world!

DOES WOWOWEE ENCOURAGE MENDICANCY?

In the press conference after the ULTRA stampede, a representative of the Philippine Daily Inquirer questioned why Wowowee was encouraging mendicancy. I am sad to say that the question was not answered properly. My family watched wowowee. Contrary to popular perception, the show's audiences are not composed of only the poor section of society. In fact, a large number of the audience and balik-bayans, and they are loaded with dollars. The show does not just dole out money, they give away kabuhayan showcases. This should not be construed, however, that many people are poor and depend on these game shows to survive. The truth is, most Filipinos watch these programs because they want to earn quick money. It is not that they do not have the means to work, but if one could win 2 million by joining these game shows, why not? It is unfair to brand shows like Wowowee as encouraging mendicancy. I find it outlandish for an Inquirer reporter to even ask such a question at a time when people are still getting over the tragedy. Oh well, there will always be people with crab mentality, and I guess she's just one of them. You know who you are. We are better off without you.

ENEMIES OF THE LOPEZ FAMILY MUST BE REJOICING!

The enemies of the Lopez Family which own ABS-CBN, Meralco and other corporations must be rejoicing. They have just found an issue to push the ABS-CBN and the Lopezes into the mud. It is saddening to note that our culture and political machinery belong to the dark ages. The oligarchs have their turfs and we are just pawns. Now, the Lopez enemies are gearing up to take advantage of a tragedy which is clearly an accident and use it to bring down a corporate empire.

THE ULTRA STAMPEDE

It is unfair for the fact-finding body looking into the ULTRA stampede to fast-track the investigation and try to pin the blame on one side only. Admittedly, ABS-CBN has some responsibility in the tragedy, but I have to put in my two cents worth on this. A week before the actual event, people were already lining up at the ULTRA. Documents from ABS-CBN show that they asked for "ample assistance" from the police. But even without such a request, the mere fact that it was visible to the naked eye that the number of people were growing as the days progress should have been enough for the police to have coordinated with the organizers and volunteer for assistance. That is the duty of our police—to serve and to protect. Why does it now appear that the police is claiming that the crowd control management be decided upon by the event organizers alone? The street is fair game… it is a public area that is the responsibility of the local government and the police force of Pasig City. I am very familiar with that particular gate of ULTRA. I have been in and out of that gate for years because two of my sisters used to work for SHAPE Center which is just at the end of that sloping path. It is not true that the path is not suitable for pedestrians. It is not as steep as is being portrayed by some people. Now we have the security forces of ULTRA and ABS-CBN pointing fingers at each other. The militant groups have joined the bandwagon to blame the government for the stampede! Incredible! Why can't we accept the fact that the stampede happened because we Filipinos lack discipline? We can be sure that this is not the end of the hooplah regarding the stampede. Soon, Congress and the Senate will ask for an investigation "in aid of legislation". Just a thought: How many laws were actually passed as a result of investigations in aid of legislation? Or maybe it is in aid of re-election? It is easy to put in our 2 cents worth. After all, hindsight has 20-20 vision. My God, are we that thick to admit that it was everyone else's fault except ours? God help us all!

POLITICS MAKE FOR STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

Erap's birthday celebration last weekend in San Juan was a strange event to behold. The once respected Corazon Aquino and her former Justice secretary Franklin Drilon were seen posing with the deposed Erap Estrada in his residence in San Juan. No one would have thought that Erap, a Marcos boy through and through would eventually link hands with Cory and Drilon who were instrumental in his ouster years ago. Indeed, politics do make for strange bedfellows. This clearly manifests the insincerity of the this particular faction of the opposition just so they can oust a legally-elected president (and sitting) of the Republic. It has become obvious that there is a clear and concentrated effort from the opposition, aided by leftist groups (the same leftist groups who were in EDSA 2 demanding ERAP to resign!) to bring back to power a deposed president. Then there's the Hyatt 10 led by the traitor Dinky Soliman and aided by Butch Abad of Batanes (who I heard has a very beautiful albeit expensively-decorated house in Batanes). For the record, the opposition's overlord ERAP should remain in Tanay for the duration of his life (which some pray be less than a year). He should bring with him his senator-son Jinggoy. After all, Erap's domain there is heavily wooded and would be ideal for monkeys like the father-son tandem. And now, as I am writing this blog, who else is hogging the limelight and riding on the ULTRA stampede tragedy but the native Ita from Makati, Jejomar Binay blaming the president for everything from poverty to, who knows, athlete's foot. Why not blame Gloria for the Egypt ferry sinking as well? Should the opposition now pin the blame on Gloria for martial law? I don't discount that happening for after all, Cory and Drilon have shown their true political colors. Ninoy must be turning in his grave! Oh well, politics in this country is like that. We can hate one political figure now and love him the next. That is how politics is done here in this country. Again, politics make for strange bedfellows.

BATAAN FIESTA 2006

Yours truly and his sister were invited by Poppo Zamora, his fiance Jackie Gabionza and Poppo's family at the town fiesta of Hermosa in Bataan last Monday, January 30, 2006. We arrived on the day of the fiesta itself, which fell on a Monday. We were treated to a feast of chicken, pork, shrimp and sugpo and crabs, and of course, lechon at Poppo's family's residence in Hermosa. Of course there was the usual singing and drinking and dancing and all the fun stuff one would expect at any town fiesta. Hope you like the pictures, courtesy of the ever-beautiful Jackie G.

Host Poppo with his favorite hammock

Me with my sister Rose at the "Hacienda"

Lunch military-style

Me with (from left) Ate Rose, Jackie G. and "Vice" Poppo

Nakaw na halik

She may not eat chicken, but she sure can cook 'em

Hermosa's version of The Lettermen (Da Leche Men)

Efren BATAK Reyes, no-balls champion

Dance on little girl. Poppo's niece Iyah

Si Andy Williams nga ba ituh??????

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Theoakwood mutineer's escape from detention is nothing more than a sign of guilt on their part. Remember the legal premise that flight is an admission of guilt. i am sorry to say that the magdalo mutineers have so far not been able to convince the people of their sincerity in trying to uplift the lives of the common tao. in fact, these soldiers are no more than just nuisances in our daily lives. By wreaking havoc on the government, they are doing the nation and its people a great injustice. they have the gall to call themselves honorable soliders when in fact they dont even have the balls to face the consequences of their actions. these are the soldiers who bravely said i n the press conference during the oakwood siege that they were willing to die for their cause, only to surrender like cowardly dogs with their tails between their legs. So do this country a favor, oakwood mutineers, if you really dont like the way things are done in this country, then get the hell out. No one is forcing you to stay here. go into exile for all we care. maybe that would be a service worthy of your status.