Mar Roxas Can Start ASVEN: Asia’s Venice
w
By Popoy Del R. Cartanio
ASVEN: Asia’s Venice in Metro-Manila?
Dumb and dumber? Impossible? Not Really.
Go, Google the history of Venice,
the construction of the Suez
and the Panama Canals? ASVEN
Could be even easier, cheaper, braver
to build than Italy ‘s Venice.
No need to remember the Ifugao’s
Banawe Rice Terraces an engineering marvel
No need to Google the Taj Mahal
or the Pyramids of Egypt.
These monuments to inhumanity–because
of way these were built– irrelevant
to the permanent meteorologic and;
hydrologic problems of generations
of Juan de la Cruz.
No need to blame Rajah Matanda
or Lakandula’s lack of foresight.
Ancient rulers of below sea level
rain drenched underwater Manila.
We can high and long jump centuries
“Just do it” now and rake in billions
of dollars as did Nike–the shoes upstart.
Desolate, dry and hot deserts;
dark, cold and wet rainforests, forest fires
during summer; roaring floods and landslides of winters;
stormy, angry seas; swaying, dancing,
tectonic earth crust movements, all these are NATURE.
Godlike, sacred holy phenom , eternal as paradise
as large and safe as universe
until death of the dinosaurs, the explosion of people.
Microcosmic, it is Metro Manila of indifference,
of creeping decadence; of the polluted Pasig,
of dead Laguna de Bay; of blackened shit
and urine esteros, of shanties and TV antennae.
And because of some people–it became
Metro Manila of cosmic corruption.
Even bobo-dumbos can change that
Make part of MM the millenium ASVEN, and
this lagoon of sinners could be
a changed congested lost Atlantic.
And now to begin is nearing for
This wannabe poet’s technics and techniques
To Mar Roxas a suggested algorithm
To end once and for all what else but
Like a woman’s curse the annual destruction
Wrought by floods and precipitation.
PAHABOL:
So what else is not New? Taon-taon delubyo.
Si Mar Roxas di naman bago, sa tulong natin
Kayang-kaya, yakang –yaka niya project na ito.
Bare bones sans muscles and tendons . . . .
The Philippines is in dire need of a sort of science and technology renaissance in the form of a mammoth project to prove to itself and to the world it is capable of replicating in modern times the scale of an engineering marvel worthy of the Banawe Rice Terraces.
ASVEN IS A NATIONAL PROJECT designed to address a recurrent national problem of proven calamitous proportions. This can be a pilot designed to be replicated elsewhere in Luzon or Mindanao. ASVEN offers a permanent solution to recurring floods and excess water in Metro Manila where streets are to be excavated into navigable canals, city blocks become islands, a modern Venice in Asia becomes the final repository of flood waters from watersheds and drainage basins, monsoons, and typhoons, from lakes and rivers, esteros; excess water released to Manila Bay, etc. ASVEN contains every necessity imperative to a modern human settlement to become the premiere tourists Mecca in Asia.
ASVEN stands as the test of the political will of the incoming Mar Roxas Administration. It will serve as the monument of the ability of the government bureaucracy to come together and demonstrate their skill and competence to overcome vulnerability against constant calamities and ancient cultural inertia to progress. It is a small step of a big “deculturalization process” against perceived politically induced technology failure, against dirty habits, polluted esteros, squatting and overcrowding, undisciplined behaviour, inability to control dengue, etc., etc. ASVEN shall be the almost timeless if not permanent legacy of Mar Roxas making the deemed impossible into something probable and visible physical REALITY.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION of The Philippine “ASVEN”, the City built by typhoons and floods
Ideas For critique and evaluation:
- The project is supposed to create a permanent solution to the massive destruction caused by recurrent heavy rains and floods costing the government and the citizens massive losses of lives and large destruction of properties;
- The project shall try the probables but not the impossible in the application of new technology like solar energy to generate electric power, mechanical energy of windmills to power water pumping stations to and from designated reservoirs and massive civil works;
- The project is to determine AND MANAGE once and for all times the final destination of recurrent runoff and flood waters in the broadest project area of hydrologic influence;
- To construct drainage waterways from existing roads and streets, dikes and spillways to control floods;
- To consider building an in-city source of domestic water supply;
- To have the opportunity to inventory the past enormous cost and losses due to floods and to determine and established capability gaps in terms of technical knowledge and equipment in controlling the destructive force of nature;
- Located in Metro Manila low lying areas with history of recurrent flooding; like the towns/cities of Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Pasig, Marikina, some towns in Bulacan; reconnaissance survey, using aerial photogrammetry, or satellite photos or new techniques to consider probable sites;
- ASVEN shall be the Mecca of a drainage pattern to capture enormous amounts of ordinary rain, typhoon and monsoon rains and should be linked to existing dams, lakes and rivers like the Marikina and Pasig to draw from seasonal water deficits and drained excess water .
- The project will examine potential hydrologic involvement of La Mesa and Angat Dams, the Marikina, Pasig and other rivers, the Bays of Manila and Laguna;
- A sewerage system will be designed to empty in Manila Bay or inland built for the purpose of dump site and later land fill;
- ASVEN City will be composed of many small islands (former city blocks) surrounded by big canals (former city roads) with wide canals (built like 4-lane boulevard), for example UST canal prerimeter shall be connected to main canals Espana and Quezon Blvd which connect to drain or draw water from the Pasig River close to Quinta Public Market;
- Existing roads where cars and land vehicles pass before shall be converted to canals for water transport and leisure;
- ASVEN The modern city of flood may cross political boundaries like natural watersheds; like parts of it being in Marikina and Pasig; or Navotas and Malabon;
- ASVEN City should be built as TOURISM City, with limited commerce, factories and leisure transport; it will be a “minipolis” for culture and The Arts; a show case of “disciplined democracy”; a phoenix out of a formerly polluted habitat;
- Like a modern Venice it should be built as a modern human settlement containing all amenities of clean and healthy living; with a church, elementary and high schools; museum, cinema; a modern technology-based local government offices, it would outlaw big Malls and other unhealthy business establishments;
- The planning and construction and maintenance of canals and waterways SHALL address expected water-borne diseases and other vectors like mosquitoes (malaria, dengue, etc.), and rats (leptospirosis);
- Having established a prototype model of ASVEN planned and constructed by The National government with foreign funding assistance, small manageable islands (old city blocks) may be sub-leased to big business for construction of malls and other entertainment structures.
- The project will displace thousands of families and will require (the likes of Brasilia?) new human settlements in the highlands of Rizal Province;
- THE ASVEN concept may be replicated in other parts of Luzon with a history of destructive rainfall and recurring flooding in a more limited scale
- THE ASVEN shall be planned and constructed by builders and consultants of purely local talents and shall take advantage of OFWs experience and expertise;
- The creation or construction period of the ASVEN shall be constrained to start at the end of the rainy/typhoon season while its canal and water connected portions should be completed before the start of the following rainy season; structures on land like buildings may be done outside the season schedule;
- Studies should be made on land owners and other residents to pave the way for less obstruction in construction;
- Landowners and homeowners may remain in their present location or be relocated depending on the city design; compensation by eminent domain may be applicable in many cases;
- For purposes of speedy construction; some residents may be temporarily transferred to new nearby government housing before they are returned to their land. As payment for their land and homes displaced, homeowners may be given places in new high rise government housing elsewhere;
- THE ASVEN is a multi-agency project with DPWH as lead agency and DOST as second lead agency, orchestrating the participation and contribution of the DOH, DOT, DILG, the UP School of Urban ad Regional Planning, rural and urban local government units of PAGIBIG, Transportation and Communications, DENR, Education, Health and PNP, etc.
- The orchestrating organizational structure shall be a (1) a decision-making superbody composed of DPWH, DOST, DOH, DOT AND DILG; and (2) action-level sub functional units (as needed) like DPTC, DOE, PAGIBIG FUND, city government, civic organization, etc;
- Enabling legislation if necessary must be passed by end of 2017; if the DPWH proposed budget for ASVEN is included in the 2018 General Appropriations Act; the ASVEN can be a reality by mid 2020 or even earlier;
- Existing on-going or recently planned infrastructure projects of DPWH, DOST, DOH AND DILG when appropriate may be dovetailed to The ASVE N Project;
- A core interdisciplinary (interdepartmental ) ASVEN team drawn from experts of agencies mentioned in No. 26. shall lead and be responsible for the feasibility studies.
Market Information
- Market study of potential goods and services in the business sector of ASVEN;
- REVENUES and expenditures of government units in the broad project area of influence;
- BUSINESS establishments, volume of business in the broad project area of influence;
- Limits of foreign funding assistance.
Technical Information Required
- More or less detailed description of the hyrdrological cycle and land use for the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and the cities of Metro Manila as covered by the broad project area of influence;
- OVERALL drainage pattern and characteristics of runoff for the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and the cities of Metro Manila;
- Historical amount of annual rainfall and river characteristics of these provinces and cities;
- In case of precipitation or typhoon shortfalls, or effects of el nino to keep water levels navigable at the ASVEN canals, waters from two Bays, Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay shall be considered as the emergency reservoirs.
WHEN was the last time The government WAS SCARED because water levels in Luzon dams has sunk to very low levels? WHEN was the last time the government ordered the release of water from what dams as water had reached dangerous levels?
Financial Feasibility
Will ASVEN cost more or as much as 10% of the total national budget of the last ten years which were lost as collateral damage to incompetence and corruption?
- Limits of foreign funding assistance,; provision of appropriations from the national budget;
- Cost and benefit analysis of the project Investments from the private sector;
- BENEFITS calculated against losses of lives and properties AVERTED during the project lifetime;
- Single-source project sector funding or big business consortium;
- LOCAL FUNDING;
- LOANS AND REPAYMENT SCHEDULES;
Operational Coordination
- PRIVATE SECTOR — capital investment, construction and contracting services;
- DPWH – LEAD ROLE – civil works and PWH infrastructure;
- CONGRESS = enactment of enabling laws;
- DOST – Meteorological and Hydrological components;
- DILG – participation of city and local government units;
- EDUCATION – reorganizing elementary and high schools;
- HEALTH – disease prevention and control; hospitals and clinics in the new city;
- DENR – land use;
- PAGIBIG FUND– existing housing rehabilitation, new housing;
- TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS – land and water transport;
- UP School of Urban and Regional Planning – general/overall planning assistance;
- LAGUNA LAKE AUTHORITY – discharge of lake waters to rivers and the canals;
- PNP – peace and good order in the new city;
- PROFESSIONALS AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS – citizen participation.
Possible Alternative sites of ASVEN
This is where the flood waters from the drainage basins and watershed of the broad project area of influence will converge or end and or release to rivers or Manila Bay:
- Metro Manila and environs as entire flood basin;
- Combined parts of Pampanga and Bulacan;
- Combined parts of Quezon and Marikina Cities;
- Combined parts of Malabon City and Navotas City;
- Lowest part of Marikina City alongside Marikina River;
- Combined parts of Manila, Makati and Mandaluyong;
- Spin-off cities in Candaba,
BARE-BONE idea source of ASVEN: Luzon is an island of plains, valleys, rivers, and mountains bounded left and right by two great oceans. It is a land greatly sustained historically by the hydrologic cycle such that the abundance of water rather than its lack has been a perennial problem.
When all ideas, criticisms and disbelief has been thrown at this piece, a deeper question remains. Has anyone figured out why the New Wonders of the World are creations of Nature (e.g. underground river in Palawan) and not man made like the Eight Wonders they have just replaced?
Why, indeed?
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
stumbling block: Right of Way, Lina Law.
excerpt for the pyramids all the other wonders are left to the imagination.
All national land use legislations remain pending, urban planning is non existent,zoning-what zoning?
Yet the Philippines is the home to a world reknowned urban planner, Jun Palafox. I wonder if he can be cloned so PH could have an army of architects and engineers who will give it a world class facelift.
http://www.manilatimes.net/1977-plan-still-remains-to-be-carried-out/188936/ – an article by Felino(Jun) Palafox:
I want to share with you an excerpt taken from the MMetroplan published in 1977 by Freeman Fox and Associates:
“The Metro Manila region is by far the largest single urban area in the Philippines with a population of six million. It produces nearly one-third of the nation’s Gross National Product, and by value, accounts for close to a half, both of all secondary activity (manufacturing and construction) and of all tertiary activity (government, commerce, and services). The center of Government has the main international port, the only regularly operating international airport, and it is the center of both higher education and cultural activity.
The problems of Manila are to some extent unique in the Philippines and daily apparent since Government, the church and a large proportion of the nation’s population live with them. However they are by no means the Philippine’s greatest problems. The fact that there is such a strong need for people to migrate to Manila in the first place is probably the country’s s single largest development problem. Opportunities for social and economic advancement outside Manila are relatively limited, and until such time as that relative difference is reduced, continued migration towards Manila can be expected. However, priority is now being given by Government to rural development policies in different parts of the country.”
After 38 years we are still confronting the same issues that were identified– traffic development management, decentralization of Manila by way of new growth centers, and flooding, among others. Back then Light Rail Transit were proposed to intersect Taft Avenue all the way to Shaw Boulevard and the proposal for integrated bus system which was already an infancy of a PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) like setup.
It’s easy to belittle the impact of proper urban planning but in a macro level it becomes a systemic problem. A road without proper sidewalks becomes a less preferable route for people to walk through. A single street without a proper bus or jeepney stop becomes a chaotic loading and unloading zone, unperturbed by the beeps and anger of other vehicles, and consequentially bottleneck congestion. Multiply this to the whole city of Manila and what we have is a circus.
http://d0ctrine.com/2014/09/05/metro-manila-transport-land-use-and-development-planning-project-mmetroplan-1977/ – MMETROPLAN 1977
http://d0ctrine.com/2014/09/03/urban-transport-study-in-manila-metropolitan-area-utsmma-1973/ – Urban Transport Study in Manila Metropolitan Area (UTSMMA, 1973)
Among the study’s main recommendations is one proposing for a mass transit system restricted to railways. A Rapid Transit Railway (RTR) network was recommended in the form of subways in the inner area bound by EDSA, and elevated in the suburban areas. Brief descriptions of the proposed lines are as follows:
Line 1 (27.1 km) – from Construction Hill to Talon via central Quezon Boulevard, Manila downtown and the International Airport
Line 2 (36.0 km) – from Novaliches to Cainta via Manila downtown and Pasig
Line 3 (24.3 km) – Along Highway 54 (C-4): half a circle route about 12 km from Manila downtown
Line 4 (30.1 km) – From Marikina to Zapote via Cubao, Manila downtown and the Manila Bay area
Line 5 (17.6 km) – From Meycauayan to Manila downtown running between Line No. 2 and PNR
PNR improvement (56.4 km) – From Bocaue to Muntinglupa via Tutuban Station
So there have been enough plans and studies in the past, parts of them implemented. The original plan was the Burnham Plan from 1905..
I just said non existent for someone will prove me wrong. hehehe
World renowned he may be, but hes a one hit wonder at least in the Philippine setting, Puerto Princesa is one of his best plans. I saw a couple more plans done by his firm for a muncipality in Bulacan, and they was utterly horrendous! Plans were akin to fantasy coloring books.
Cant really judge him, but i know better Filipino planners than him, with better vision, just need to look a little harder.
This looks like satire at first glance but some aspects make sense:
1) look for old maps of Manila and restore some old esteros to have run-off for water
2) repeal the Lina law, clear the natural flood plains of the Pasig and Marikina rivers into parks
3) right of way will have to be repealed, common interest will have to supersede individual interest
Decongesting Manila is definitely necessary, google “Metro Manila subsidence” so that the urgency is clear, not just pollution and traffic-wise – if no action is taken Waterworld will be real.
what a waste of brain power. think of the traffic.
Traffic will be alleviated if flood plains, natural tributaries and the Pasig River are turned into viable passages for alternative mode of transportation. To a small extent, that is being done already with Pasig River. Water taxis ferry people at a few destinations in Metro Manila now but they are not popular among commuters because of the Pasig River’s biological degradation. People complain about the stench, garbage and depressing views of the illegal settlers’ homes. These are problems that could be solved by multi-year biological rehabilitation projects that had been done in the lakes of Michigan and the River Thames. There is no quick and easy solution to the problem but the end result will benefit the country and its people.
The Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike (LLED) project can be considered Asia’s Venice. I think.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The project is envisioned to provide a high standard highway cum dike that will facilitate traffic flow and mitigate flooding in the western coastal communities along Laguna Lake, from Bicutan/Taguig in Metro Manila through Calamba to Los Baños in Laguna.
The proposed alignment runs 500 meters away but following the shoreline of the Laguna Lake.
The Project has the following components:
Expressway Dike, Taguig–Los Baños, 47 km, with two (2) sections as follows:
Bicutan–Calamba
Calamba–Los Baños
4–lane tollway with 8 interchanges and access roads
Dike designed for 100–year flood, and 16 floodgates/pumping stations designed for 60–year flood.
Reclamation, 700 hectares, Taguig–Muntinlupa
7 islands, about 450–500m wide and 15.6km long
With horizontal development (roads, drainage, open spaces)
100–150m channel between lakeshore and reclamation
PROJECT BENEFITS:
Reduce travel time from Bicutan to Los Baños from 90 to 35 minutes
Will create 700 hectares of land asset
Php 8.1B average annual flood damage will be avoided
An average of 800,000 people will no longer be affected by flood
Flood prone structures will be protected
Travel speed will increase from 30–45 kph to 80 kph
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
The expressway is intended to relieve the heavily travelled Bicutan–Calamba corridor (SLEX and Manila South Road)
To serve as an alternate to the congested road of the National Highway from Calamba to Los Baños.
The proposed expressway will be used to integrate a flood control system to protect the flood prone areas located along the shoreland of Laguna Lake
Main economic benefits include savings in vehicle operating costs, savings in passenger time, reduction in flood damages, increase in land productivity in existing communities due to flood protection, and increase in land productivity (value added) in the reclamation area.
http://www.dpwh.gov.ph/PPP/projs/lled.htm
sounds very similar to this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afsluitdijk
I once went by car on this dike/expressway, there is a monument in the middle to the Dutch as a people that builds. This is where I realized that Dutch unity was formed by overcoming the high water – after all there is the old story of Hendrik, the boy who kept his finger in the dyke and prevented his village from flooding – and that the first democratic entities there were the Water Management Authorities or Waterschapen in the Middle Ages.
Wikipedia link to lled
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Lakeshore_Expressway_Dike
PROJECT COST:
Expressway Dike – PhP 64.914 B
Reclamation – PhP 57.897 B
Total – PhP 122.811 B
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT:
Right-of-Way – PhP 2.1 B
Viability Gap Fund-none required
PROJECT STATUS:
Invitation to prequalify to Bid was published on August 03,08, and 15, 2014.
Investor’s Forum conducted on October 03, 2014
Pre–Qualification Conference was conducted last December 02, 2014
Pre–Qualification Documents Evaluation March 03-06,2015
Final drafting of CA, ITB and MPSS on-going.
Parcellary Survey on-going
Fourth Round of One-on-One Meeting to be scheduled
PROJECT TIMELINE:
Advertisement/Invitation to Pre–qualify and Bid 03–15 August 2014
Issuance and Preparation of PQ Documents 04 Aug – 26 February 2015
Pre–Qualification Conference 02 December 2014
Submission of PQ Documents 27 February 2015
Evaluation of PQ Documents 28 February – 19 March 2015
Issuance of Notice to Pre–Qualified Bidders 17 March 2015
a) Team Trident
b) San Miguel Holdings Corp.
c) Alloy-PAVI-Hanshin LLEDP Consortium
Issuance of Bidding Documents 31 March 2015
Pre–Bid Conference 14 April 2015
First Round One-on-One Meeting 28–30 April 2015
Second Round One-on-One Meeting 09–11 June 2015
Bid Proposal Submission 06 November 2015
Bid Evaluation 07 – 28 November 2015
Notice of Award 18 December 2015
Contract Signing 26 January 2016
Concession Period 37 years
Detailed Engineering Design (8 months) January 2016 – August 2016
Construction May 2016 – May 2023
Operation and Maintenance (30 years) May 2023 – May 2053
ISSUES AND CONCERNS:
Presidential Proclamation confirming the authority of the Laguna Lake Development Authority to reclaim or cause to be reclaimed a part of the Laguna Lake is for signature by the LLDA Board, to be endorsed to His Excellency Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III for approval.
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding the connectivity of C6 to LLEDP is currently under review by CITRA.
Mary’s LLED is in the planning stage already while Popoy’s ASVEN is still a dream.
Dream is free so let’s dream on.
*******
Why not dream bigger?
Why not carve a new Philippine Capital City in the center of the islands? Like Masbate or Sibuyan.
Then we will not have an imperial Manila and the outlying regions will be given attention.
The multiplier effect will be enormous.
*****
Yes, so true…
I agree with edgar,
Manila looks like it’s way tooooo much work. The only other established city, not to the size of Manila yet, is Davao– similar bay, terrain, etc.
Why not transfer this idea to a place deserving of a face lift and create a new capital in line with future threats and opportunities.
For for this to happen, and I’m sure Ireneo would agree, Duterte has to be President. Turn the Philippines upside down, shake it up and let all that wealth fall south.
An underground maglev connecting all major islands would be nice.
You guys already have the water, that’s a natural highway system.
Where Indonesia excelled way more than the Philippines was in their ferry system,
it worked like a clock, simple, efficient. You didn’t need local guides to help you figure it out, in the Philippines it’s a lot more complicated, less dependable,
I’m dreaming of a more cohesive nation. When one pays a few hundred pesos to go from davao to manila or cebu the tribalism may weaken. The ferry system is more doable and practical but I would like to use transport for building one nation.
I get it. You guys already have a route, just bolster it,
Have been talking about that road trip since HS when we were younger it was lack of money now it is lack of time.
There’s always no better time than now. Get gov’t funding for it, make it a Maglev discovery and research proposal. Hit up EU NGOs.
gian,
Your underground comment made me think about this, http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/messner-mountain-museum-corones/
What do you think of concrete structures imbedded in the terrain?
This concept has the desert in mind, but can something like this be applied there also? Albeit on higher ground.
http://www.travelsmart.net/RORO.htm
Strong Republic Nautical Highway
True, we should go back to our roots. We were once a greate sea/water-faring nation – Sulu and Maguindanao Sultanates ruled the seas.
Most of our place names are connected to bodies of water – Pampanga – pampang
Maynila – MayNilad – nilad is water plant – so much more to mention.
I even saw old photos of when Pasig was much like Thailand’s floating, markets where people from the mountains flow down river to sell their goods. This was probably what kept it clean those days, the less we use it the less people clamor for better management.
We pretty much forgot our water-borne origins for Japanese made Cars and Western Airplanes! Most of our existing barges/ferries are Japanese surplus! Just last month I rode a 50 year old ferry to Marinduque. To my dismay, I learned their entire fleet was of more than 40 ships were Japanese surplus, ranging from 60-40 year old pieces of junk. No wonder a lot of ships sink in our waters.
If you do go back to this route, I hope you guys enlist the Badjaos, they’re masters. The SEALs were having a field day with these guys, deep sea diving, holding your breath, swimming contests, etc.
And if you want to implement the austerity component to this plan, get those Aetas involved too (best Jungle Survival course ever, back when the bases were there, the school was 100 times better I heard).
The only living civilisation that did that is Myammar. Their new capital Naypyidaw covers a sprawling area 120 times the size of Manhattan. Got 20 lane streets, beautifully lighted. Administrative agencies already shifted there from Rangoon. Today, it’s still a ghost town.
Don’t think we can create a new city and transpose an old city there. Cities are like living organisms, they evolve over time.
*******
Brazil has Brasilia.
Oz has Canberra.
Philippines had Quezon City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_purpose-built_national_capitals
*****
Don’t forget Washington D.C.– in the middle of a swamp no less.
if we make another canal, why not make another why not connect manila bay or south china sea to the pacific ocean. have ports at both ends. China is reclaiming its way to the west Philippine sea, the displaced fishermen must have access to the pacific ocean.Close the current north and south harbor,
This was part of one of Imelda’s plans for a future Mega Manila – have a canal from Laguna de Bay to the Pacific and ports in Quezon – I think Atimonan.
But probably a Batangas-Bataan highway with a dike to close Manila bay in case of storm, similar to the Dutch flood control dikes in the North Sea, would make sense as well. Well it will all cost but what will be the cost of NOT doing it in the long run – much higher.
Yes there was a World Bank Study before that called for a three -proged flood control program:
The Manggahan Floodway – to catch water from the Eastern part from Montalban and other parts of Luzon – done
The Napindan Channel – to prevent rush of flood to Manila and suburbs – done
The Paranaques spillway – to direct excess water from Laguna Lake and Pasig River to Manila Bay on to the Pacific – not done due to lack of funds…naubos dahil sa tongpats
er – pronged not proged…aaarghh
driver is waiting, time to go…uwian na….!
I meant something similar to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works at the mouth of Manila Bay.
Also interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_in_the_Netherlands – MMC had Dutch experts come to Manila in the 1970s. They really know how to deal with floods.
Voila: water boards in the Netherlands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board_%28Netherlands%29 – one for each region and they take care of everything that has to do with flooding, the oldest democratic institutions in the country.
“Punishments meted out by water boards were fines for misdemeanors such as emptying waste in the nearest canal; however, according to various historical documents, the death penalty was used more than once for serious offenders who threatened dike safety or water quality”
“Water boards act independently from national government to manage the continuing struggle against the water in the Netherlands. Water boards still levy their own taxes, but they no longer have power to penalize offenders. To control quality of surface water (canals, lakes, ponds and streams), water boards fulfill several tasks: policy making, planning and building projects, issuing permits (sewage discharge requires a permit) and treatment of sewage and by-products. The various municipalities within the geographic area covered by a water board are responsible for collecting sewage from households and industries, but water boards transport and treat the sewage.”
This is really interesting. Is this system just in the Netherlands, how about other parts of Europe with similar terrain?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board
In Germany water boards (Wasserverbände or Wasserwirtschaftsverbände), also sometimes translated as water associations, are organizations set up under public law for different purposes ranging from wastewater treatment, flood protection, groundwater management, bulk water supply, irrigation, drainage, the restoration and protection of ecosystems to water resources monitoring.
Water boards are established on the legal basis of the federal law on water and soil associations (Gesetz über Wasser- und Bodenverbände), complemented by state laws in several German states (Länder) such as in Lower Saxony where water boards are in charge of coastal protection or North Rhine-Westphalia where water boards are based on state laws passed specifically for the purpose of creating these public service and welfare organisations.[1] Membership can be voluntary or mandatory, depending on the purpose of the water board. Members can be individuals, typically landowners in the area covered by a water board, or municipalities. There are thousands of water boards in Germany, mostly in Northern Germany and usually consisting of individual members. The first such water boards were created for coastal protection in the 13th century as private associations that subsequently evolved into boards established under public law.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_des_Bremer_Deichwesens
Bremen is similar to Holland in terrain and also started organizing its dikes in the middle ages – including laws that those who did not participate in maintaining dikes lost their land.
But this is also interesting:
Philippines – The National Water Resources Board (NWRB), created in 1976 through the National Water Code, coordinates policies concerning water resources. Since 2002, the National Water Resources Board (NWBR) is also entrusted with the economic regulation of water supply systems operated by local government units and water districts.
now what do they mean by water districts and what does NWRB effectively do?
Ireneo,
Water districts I’m more familiar with. California’s divided into several of those, some more powerful than others and attempt to make everyone (or as many people) happy with their water supply. There’s a bunch of aqueducts that criss cross the state, the Colorado, California & Los Angeles aqueducts being the longest.
The water rights laws in the Southwest is the most complicated,
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/25/417430662/how-a-historical-blunder-helped-create-the-water-crisis-in-the-west
If you’ve seen “Chinatown” w/ Jack Nicholson, that’s a glimpse into how violent these water wars got in the early 1900s.
But the American Southwest is a desert, the Philippines is in the tropics, lots of rain.
So the issue is mainly just pollution and catchment (reservoirs), also that problem you mentioned about silt (salt water penetration).
Excerpts from Buddy Gomez’s The Big One…
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/blogs/opinions/03/04/15/big-one
From lakeshore to the edge of the reclaimed area, a water channel ranging from 100 to 150 meters wide will be created.
Folks, let loose your imaginations and start day-dreaming. What comes to me at the moment is the spawning of new businesses like, for one example, small watercraft manufacture (and ancillary services) that will feed new leisure and sports activities like boating! (And boating-tingan?!?) Levity aside, however, definite economic benefits will ensue. Of course, there will be savings in vehicular operating costs, vast improvements in passenger time and convenience. Appreciation of current land values (and therefore, resultant real estate tax revenues), not to mention added value produced by reclaimed land are givens.
Mindanaoan said think of the traffic, we will have a new kind of traffic a traffic of speed boats and jet skis. what do you expect a romantic boat ride all the time? wala na ngang kalesa eh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasig_River_Ferry_Service
while the river still stinks, the ferry will remain a hard sell.
Excellent project. Would probably take maybe two lifetimes to finish but a start has to be made now. Seems to me that the Army Corp of Engineers could do it. Continuously funded year to year and prioritized with urgent flood control now and nice to do for later so on down the line. There has to be a master plan and some body to orchestrate the whole thing. Grand ideas come from dreaming and dreaming big. Get the Dutch government to help us in planning. They are the world’s foremost experts in hydrology.
mother nature will do what it has to do to maintain order and balance of our third rock. many people know the natural law… water seeks its own level (in a round habitat, that it’s a bit of mystery to me except that i admire the wisdom of the Great Designer) yet many developers, because the catch basin is the cheapest real estate and the mountain is the cheapest source of filling material, they move the mountain to level the catch basin…on top of that they cover a vast area with concrete to make it more pleasant (delaying seepage to the underworld)…developers won (they made money)…some people won ( they have a nice above for majority of time)…but many people lost as the end result. the developers do not get it and they wonder why there is great disharmony. but the stilt dwellers do get it and they peacefully co-exist wtih its environment.
smart people (when they make projects for humankind betterment) they look at nature to make their ideas work. the airplane was from the birds, the helo was from the bee, the boat was from the floating log, the parachute from the flying bat, the dam from the flowing water. fasteners from the sticklers, the glue from the sap and many more. the bottom line is if we go against nature, we loose.
we have natural waterways…but instead of helping mother nature in maintaining it as a waterway we destroy it with pollution and silt..thus we impede water to flow to where it is suppose to go ..the catch basin (lake, sea, low areas, etc). we need to enhance our waterways…dredge, dredge and dredge it so can be a container teaming with waterlife and a passage for water flow…we do not stop dredging it so as to sustain it… like we eat so we can live and we need to eat as many times as we need in order to live and be healthy. we need to clean our waterways so we can use them for our betterment and enjoyment. they could serve as fishing areas to ease our tensions, its banks our walking and jogging path to our road to healthiness. the bigger waterways can serve as transport paths for people and goods. many small civilizations grew when their waterway is developed and likewise many civilizations died too when they killed the waterways.
my observation is that many of the philippine waterways in densely populated areas are the hubs of undocumented settlers who are contributing to the death of the waterways as a productive help. the government should look at the importance of the centerline of the waterway because this is its life. you go near its centerline, you will kill it, you go farther away from its centerline, you make her happy. so when you develop the waterway, look at its centerline, make her happy so she will be teeming with life and can do what it’s suppose to do contain water and a way for the water. yes we, our body is full of water…we should love water. Thank you Lord for the water of life…gude
Gude to you, too juanlee. That was a analytical way to look at it, full of wisdom, practical ideas and application on the ecological correlation between human and nature.
Malabon has been experiencing this never ending flood . Why?
Reclamation could be the answer. The “Dagat-dagatan housing development in Navotas, adjacent to the Tondo Foreshore urban redevelopment project, which was developed in the late 1960s to accommodate the thousands of informal settler families displaced by the Manila North Harbor Container Port. According to various reports, the Dagat-dagatan project has caused severe flooding in the coastal communities in Navotas and Malabon which never flooded before, because it lengthened the distance that flood waters have to travel to drain out to the sea.”
Following are Excerpts from Do We Need Another Reclamation? An Argument Against the Madness
Heritage Conservation Society
by Arch. Nathaniel “Dinky” Von Einsiedel
BluPrint, December 2012
Reclamation, by its very nature, is an environmentally invasive activity. It basically alters the natural ecological system of shorelines and coastal areas. It also is an expensive alternative to creating more land supply for urban development purposes. Constructing roads and buildings on reclaimed land is also expensive because of the additional reinforcement required. Buildings on reclaimed land also tend to sway more violently during earthquakes, not to mention their higher risk to tsunami.
Furthermore, in addition to the ecological and economic reasons against further reclamation in Manila Bay, reclamation is also a major cause of widespread flooding. An example of this is the Dagat-dagatan housing development in Navotas, adjacent to the Tondo Foreshore urban redevelopment project, which was developed in the late 1960s to accommodate the thousands of informal settler families displaced by the Manila North Harbor Container Port. According to various reports, the Dagat-dagatan project has caused severe flooding in the coastal communities in Navotas and Malabon which never flooded before, because it lengthened the distance that flood waters have to travel to drain out to the sea.
Open to Manila Bay on the west and to Laguna Lake in the southeast, Metro Manila constitutes a vast urbanized drainage basin that experiences frequent inundations from overflowing rivers and storm waters which the existing system of esteros and canals constructed during the Spanish and American periods can no longer handle. Despite the growing vulnerability of much of the metropolitan area, however, rapid urbanization has continued unabated with residential, industrial, and commercial land uses increasingly exposed to flood-related destruction.
Flooding has been a feature of daily life in Manila since at least the 19th century. When rains were particularly strong or tides were high, the natural drainage system was unable to cope with the sudden volume of water and the city was turned into one vast lake. The gradual expansion of the urban area into the surrounding marshes, primarily through reclamation, only increased the frequency and magnitude of such inundations. Over the years, rapid population growth, changes from open to urbanized lands, and environmental factors have combined to magnify the nature and extent of flooding in the metropolis.
Apart from the factors that predispose Metro Manila to flooding, such as topography, annual rainfall, typhoons, tidal variations, storm surges, and poor drainage capacity of soils, its vulnerability is increased considerably by human actions such as reclamation. Climatic and environmental factors, which themselves are evolving over time, partly as a result of natural processes and partly from human-induced ones, also inter-relate in complex ways with the changes brought about as a result of human activity to make Metro Manila more vulnerable to floods. These improper land management practices directly increase the vulnerability of Metro Manila to floods as more and more lands are allowed to be developed into impermeable, or non-water-absorbing, urban sites.
The history of urban development and flooding in Metro Manila has been one of lost opportunities and uncertainty. Patronage politics, lack of commitment to planning and implementation, weak regulation enforcement, and inadequate urban management capacity have created conflicts of interest and rent-seeking strategies that have resulted in a mega-city that is exposed to high levels of disaster risk.
If more reclamation is carried out in Manila Bay, it is more likely that in the near future, flooding in Metro Manila will get worse before it gets better. The pressures of rapid and massive population growth and urbanization are simply outpacing the capacity of Metro Manila – whether this is taken to be the 17 local governments, or the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), or combined as one entity including the national government agencies based in the metropolis – to plan, manage and fund the more environmentally sensitive pattern of metropolitan development. Under this future scenario, the most that can realistically be expected in the short term is for all the local governments comprising the metropolis to have in place proper disaster preparedness plans.
But if Metro Manila is to develop as a flood-free mega-city, Manila and the other component cities need to look beyond the confines of their respective jurisdictions and accept the fact that they are part and parcel of a single floodplain, a vast urbanized drainage basin which does not respect political boundaries. If this acceptance is achieved, then the preparation of an ecologically-based regional plan can proceed. Unless this happens, Metro Manila will likely not only remain vulnerable but even become highly susceptible to more frequent and severe disasters in the face of climate change.
@Popoy
“ASVEN stands as the test of the political will of the incoming Mar Roxas Administration.”
——-
“the test …”
“the”???
What do you think of this?
“ASVEN can stand as a test of the political will of a Mar Roxas Administration.”
I think you and Popoy are both right. I think Popoy used “the” to stress the importance and urgency of an ASVEN type project as an enduring legacy of all the administration’s past and future positive gains. Your version is also factual and fitting. We all know it is not easy to implement projects in the Philippines.
Thanks, Juana.
It would be nice if we can hear from Popoy.
http://j.mp/ja-popoy
Or from Joe Am.
It’s open for your interpretation, i7sharp. Make your best of it. I doubt it was a grammar mistake.
@Popoy
“The Philippines is in dire need of a sort of science and technology renaissance in the form of a mammoth project to prove to itself and to the world it is capable of replicating in modern times the scale of an engineering marvel worthy of the Banawe Rice Terraces.”
“in dire need … of a mammoth project … engineering marvel …”
That would take years to accomplish.
This can take as little as a few seconds or minutes to figure out:
If
Genesis 1:1
can be coded
Gen0101
how can
Psalm 119:176
be coded (using 7 letters and numbers)?
As far as I know (which is not that far),
the world has not done it yet.
Salamat.
ps
Thanks again to Edgar for his suggestion.
Mekong Delta to Bangkok covet the name Venice-of-Asia.
Central Highlands of Vietnam is Switzerland-of-Asia
Pasig River cannot be Venice-of-Asia though it can be used to relieve congested traffic in Metro Manila.
Suez, Panama, Pyriamids, Taj Mahal, Babylon cannot be made in today’s labor environment. These major projects back then violate all OSHA and labor practices and building codes. ASVEN cannot happen in my lifetime. When Filipinos dream of projects, it cannot happen. Torre del Manila took two decades from dream to inception to build phase … uhhhmmm … it is not done yet, because crab Filipinos did not want to dominate the American-appointed fake heroe Jose Rizal monument.
So, when they have conc eptualize ASVEn into Build Phase …. they will stop short of Malacanang for Security Reason of Mar Roxas and Mrs. Korina Sanchez-Roxas … BWA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!
Of course, Korina doesn’t want hoi polloi in little pumpboat to see her sunbathing sipping daiquiri with army of Malacanang kitchen staff quaking in their boots around her.
But it is good to dream.
Election is heating up !!! Presidential Aprentice Grace Poe is listening to me. She allowed her picture-perfect family photos splashed in Inquirer and other newspaper outlet which Mar Roxas cannot do. When can Mar show the Filipinos his family picture? The Filipinos sure are eager to see the member of his family. To this day, Mar’s family picture is still a National Secret.
This election will be a battle of family pictures. Presidential Aprentice Grace Poe got an upper hand.
Heart and Chiz showing off their picture-perfect family picture in Presidential Aprentice Grace Poe’s announcement for presidency ….
Mar Roxas is still not releasing his family picture…. it may not be perfect …. but please let us see Mar Roxas family picture. There is nothing wrong with it.
How can Llamanzares’ family picture be perfect when it is based on conflicting
documents ??? Should perfection be based on convenience or hard and fast facts ??
@Popoy
Regarding design, …
let man learn from the birds and the bees.
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Acreationmoments.com+design
http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcripts/peru-s-marvellous-hummingbird
How about some low-tech supplements: drainage basins surrounded by eucalyptus groves?
Hanging Orchards of Greater Manila, anyone? Also cultivate Candaba swamps as part of the rice granary of Luzon.
Yeah, like what they did in Curitiba, Brazil. One of the best planned cities in modern times.
http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-cities/sustainable-cities/all-cases/green-city/curitiba-the-green-capital/
Still has one of the most polluted waters in the world.
Good luck to the Olympics..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollution_in_Brazil
whooo, that would be nice, to eliminate the stench from garbage thrown in the waterways…good one, sonny
Mary Grace, Mussolini created EUR, section outside of Rome, to be the future capital of his Italy. The area used to be inhabitable because it was a swamp full of malaria mosquitoes. But then came Benedictine and Trappist monks looking to build a monastery. The short of it: first they planted eucalyptus trees around the swamp; this got rid of the mosquitoes, built their monasteries and eventually brought in the settlers to inhabit the new piece of real estate. The two monasteries still stand with their terra cotta chapels and their humble candy stand at the monastery gates.
Before visiting this place, all I knew of eucalyptus trees was that Koalas are happy with them. 🙂
and driving mosquitoes away too… muy bien…aside from being use in chocolate eclairs..yummy
Until people see MAr as potential winner- not going to happen- I can’t put a finger on it but can’t figure out what the millstone is around his neck… He can’t seem to shake off this “loser” tag…I just hope Binay does not steal the polls and Escudero does not double cross Grace for Binay..
He only lost once by a slim margin of 700K, due to Peping Cojuangco and Escudero who went for NoyBi, and he had an electoral protest involving 1.5 million uncounted votes by the PCOS machines…he was number 1 Senatorial winner once just like Poe
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/723082/poe-runaway-winner-even-in-10-way-fight-magdalo-survey-shows
If these just released poll results are a precursor of what the impending 3Q SWS and AP surveys will show, the timetable for Popoy’s Venice project may have to be stretched out a bit. The expected boost in Mar’s popularity from being announced as LP standard bearer looks like it provided more a blip than an afterburner to his popularity. He barely edged out Duterte so he is now running a distant third to Binay and Poe, who stretched out her first place lead.
Still, if Duterte drops out or can be persuaded to be Roxas’s VP, the latter may still have a good chance to win it all. I think Mar has to lose Erice and form a new team to manage his campaign and remake his image. Otherwise, his goose is cooked and may even be burnt.
We have a lot of time left before May 2016.
You and I have but Mars does not. He is known for his teka-teka attitude. That and his campaign needs to change and he wanted so much time courting Coe. Where is this dunk shot he promised Pinoy if was handed the ball?
we are doing our best to prevent a Poe presidency which will usher the return of the Marcos era as i explained elsewhere in this blog article. Mar is doing his best too, I hope more will lend a hand to prevent the return to government of Marcos and his oligarch friends. It’s not enough that Binay win is prevented, it is now clear that a Poe win should not happen, too..both of them will be a curse to the Filipinos.
Or build a canal from the Pacific side connect it with the Pampanga River that drains out to Manila Bay. Helps disperse population to the eastern side of Luzon along the length of the canal. Eases annual flooding in central Luzon.
http://greensquarepropertiescorp.com/masterplanned-solution
Speaking of the eastern sea board, whatever happened to this project by Romeo Roxas?
very promising
http://greensquarepropertiescorp.com/project-development-strategy
I’m so Impressed, I am dismissing it as too good to be true.
During Marcos days, the artist’s impressions of many projects – and the “retoke” photos of the real thing, if it did come were very much like that – too good to be true.
If the Sierra Madre Mountain range can’t weaken storms wrath, this projects’ location seems to be a direct hit for typhoons.But given the chance to succeed, this could be the alternative to Metro Manila. Let us hope no more ningas cugon and if it succeeds no more crab mentality.So Aurora is the place to watch.How come it is not marketed extensively?If this succeeds let it be replicated everywhere.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=751508&page=3
magkaaway pala si Palafox at Angara. Walang mangyayari ata.
the thread answered a lot of my questions about the “white elephant”
yung sm nga hindi agad nakapalag sa isang lot owner dito sa bf paranaque,kaya delayed ang annex nila. eto pa sinabihan na ng supreme court na most fantastic land claim in history.
Sayang, the project has promise.
To Lance Corporal X,
Please check this out, and I want your view on this to good to be true,never pushed through project.
The architect mentioned by Juana, Palafox is one of the brains behind this.
Field of dreams. Build it and they will come.
Thanks, karl,
I’ve been keeping up with the stuff going on in New Orleans. So my initial question for this, are there already established towns and communities located at the proposed site? I’ll read up on it, will get back to you soon. But interesting.
http://pcij.org/stories/this-developer-burns-money-and-cuts-trees/
I am turned off already.
I’m looking at the map, and it looks like a layout to Panem and all 13 districts, will they be using symbols for each, http://kewldesigns.weblodge.net/images/HGBages_collage.jpg
Hunger Games near Manila must be their slogan.
karl,
When I google-map this site, it’s very lush and green. Is this protected land? From their website, “At present these areas are unused and undeveloped”. I’m thinking that area is probably the reason why Manila is still breathing– oxygen.
At public meetings, Roxas shocks crowds of peasants, environment activists, community leaders and local government officials each time he sets fire to crisp cash, sometimes a P50 bill, other times bigger denominations. It’s just to make a point, and the point is, according to those who’ve heard him say it, is this: “It’s easy to make money, and easy to find funding for development projects. Money is not a problem.”
Does, MRP, know this guy’s from UP? Looks like you guys have a hybrid Floyd Mayweather and Donald Trump.
Who are those peasants, are they indigenous ( lumads ) like in Mindanao, if so aren’t they protected by law?
In Central Luzon we have a community for Aetas and in the Mountain province the Igorots.
Maybe the peasants in Aurora are farmers and fishermen .
Romeo Roxas said two presidents supported his claim to the land.(Ramos and Estrada).He says he can cut trees on his property and he is not using lumber for logging purposes.
maybe cutting trees can not be avoided, but make them contribute to reforestation elsewhere. like plant a million trees in some bald mountain. and enough of planting trees in the middle of the highway.
This guy wants to amend the bsp chater so he could get the necessary funding
Yet, Roxas is not at all overwhelmed by the vastness of the venture. Nor by the enormous amounts of funding needed to bring it into full fruition. Financing will be simple, in the form of long-term bonds (30 years) fetching an interest of just 6% per annum.
Who will bankroll the bonds? The central bank, Roxas suggests. The Bangko Sentral is not allowed to do that under its present charter, he is reminded. Since its rehabilitation, from the bankrupt Central bank of the Philippines to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the bank of last resort is no longer allowed to issue CB certificates of indebtedness or CBCIs. To solve the problem, Roxas proposes an amendment to the BSP charter.
He estimate P20 billion worth of bonds will raise the initial funding to jump-start the Pacific Coast city project. Development could take 20 years.
http://romeogroxas.com/
“Romeo Roxas said two presidents supported his claim to the land.”
So that big expanse of green to the east of Manila is all his?
It’s probably better to leave that land undeveloped, imminent domain ( or simply challenge that guy’s claim ), make it into a national park for Manila’s oxygen. Better to spread your “mega-cities” through out the 3 regions, increase Cebu and Davao.
Since you can only go north and south in Cebu, better to focus on Davao– perfect bay.
Not the Mar Roxas, the presidential candidate…this is another Roxas, don’t know if he is a relative
I don’t think Romeo Roxas is related to Mar
I never knew they talked about a Pasig river expressway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasig_River_Expressway
Why did it not progress beyond talking, I wonder….
another dream that went pfffft.
http://www.philstar.com/business/93312/cavite-bataan-underwater-tunnel-proposed
Giancarlo mentioned maglev nationwide. that is a dream worth having.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev
Another reason to look at the east.
About Metro Manila Dream.
what zoning indeed! Rizal Photobomber? SM Blue at Ateneo – sorethumb of Katipunan!
The people of pushing for land use legislation have literaly grown too old for it!
Land-loving elite wont pass it unless they remove the provision that excludes all existing rice lands from future development. Its food security vs subdivisions!
We still have floods to contend with, just a 5 minute rain will cause flash floods.
So the blog is a case of “if you can’t beat them…….”
If canals everywhere, just wondering where are we gonna hold Edsa 5?
*******
Ever the realist. 🙂
*****
Maybe a fluvial Edsa 5 will suffice, more dramatic and who knows might even be more effective.
Lake Luneta. Bring your own raft. BYOR
I did read something about Netherlands..?
Population density 500..Philippines 337only
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.POP.DNST
But Netherlands has no flooding because the road tax is high and used for road and drainage projects.
Here the asphalt is 3cm and 10 cm sand..after one rainy season more potholes than road..
There the asphalt is still good after 20 years..
No rain there? 200 day’s a year? Not hot? between minus 25 and plus 35 celcius..
The quality is much higher..
The newest asphalt is Zoab, rain goes through it, end up at the side of the highway and disappeared in the manholes with connection to the canals underground…… very silent qua sound and now reflecting, soon no more street lights in the highway’s..
http://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/Snelweg/nieuwwegdek.html
https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/wegen/wegbeheer/aanleg-wegen/zoab.aspx
The money goes in the road and not in the pockets of a few ”happy” contractors/government people.
Lets start with the beginning..
The Filipino’s are outgrowing the Philippines…
What birth regulation?
105 million and growing..fast…………….
When young the kids go to the sari store, buy coke in plastic bag with straw and candy and drop it in the street..in the canal..
Where are the parents to teach them to put it in the container? And where IS the container?
(same goes for dog shit)
Where are the parking spaces for cars? In Manila almost non existent..look at the Netherlands, every subdivision has a lot of parking, in the city’s a lot of high rise parking garage’s..
Here are all the cars parked in the road..
Why not between every few buildings a parking space?
Bus stops?
Where..? Para..stop…and every car behind you also..make bus stop lane’s beside the road……Filipino’s should get used to a little exercise..
http://www.richmondlcc.co.uk/2011/03/02/hampton-court-bridge/
(picture 2)
Real bike and pedestrian lane’s ( pedestrian lane 15 cm higher so the scooters and bike’s can not use it) without the usual take over by illigal vendor’s…
(sure more people will use the bike)
http://vanderhawk.net/tag/elderly-pedestrians/
Illigal signs in the street…customer parking only..but the customer can not park because the signboard in the street saying ”parking for customers only” and bloc’s the parking space.
Roadworks..always manual..
New rule for contractors…heavy duty equipment if not..not allowed to bid for the contract..hurry up, throw away the shovels manual.. machines…speed is all..time is money.
Always ”man at work” WHERE? I never see them…. hiding for the sun..
More discipline is the magic sentence………………………………
”If you want to be a first world country you should think and act like a first world country..”
My 0.50 cents for today..Enough one finger typing… 🙂
Sup, comments have a two-link limit, otherwise they go to moderation and get delayed until I can attend to them.
Capisce 🙂
Here is why Filipinos can only afford to dream not implement their dreams. You people must have known by now that Benigno Aquino Administration which soon will be SUCCEEDED BY MAR ROXAS. Why “SUCCEED” not “NEXT PRESIDENT”? Because it will be MORE OF THE SAME: The Good, The Bad and the Uglies of it.
We also know that Benigno bought Hamilton Class Frigate with only …. repeat ONLY 50 caliber machineguns. Yes, folks! No cannons. No Phalanx missiles. Just 50 Caliber machineguns supplemented by carbine, garand rifles. Where are these Hamilton Class Frigate? It is in Manila Bay for show only. Repeat, FOR SHOW ONLY not meant to protect Philippine territorial seas.
Just in case you missed this, follow this link http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/
This is a dead rusting post-apocalyps carcass of bottle ship guarding the seas against Chinese navy marauders. WHERE ARE THE HAMILTON CLASS FRIGATES? HUH? WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY.
and what did Gloria bought……toy gun?
ahahaha… wait, she bought Garci, mitsubishops, philhealth id cards for election giveaways, fertilizers for city congressmen, TROs galore
Husband bought 2nd helicopters for use in 2004 election, after that the helicopters magically turned into brand new ones, the couple was so happy they sole the new helicopters to PNP, or is it PAF…whatever, the suckers are still the same – taxpayers
ahhh, yes…. those 2nd hand helicopter sold as brand new to PNP… whatever happened to the investigation of these scam? went the route of the kevlar helmets sold by Napoles to the AFP… wherein she bragged about a judge friend who turned out to be Sandigan Justice Ong later disciplined by the SC…?
Napoles had great contacts in the AFP courtesy of Husband Napoles, a buddy of Honasan and Kapunan…?
Late arriving . . . but see that reactions range from appreciation of the ingenuity to skepticism about the practicality.
I tend to see the solution as brilliant, for the simplicity of not fighting nature and the lay of the land. I suppose it is possible as well to build the Great Wall of Manila and seal the city off from the rising seas, but one is still faced with the difficulty of handling downpours. I’d opt for the scheme of creating some dominant major waterpaths, removing homes from the banks, and cleaning them up, but not building another Venice. I like the idea of a grand canal to the East, but it needs to be assessed of cost and feasibility. These major canals would have parks along the edge and selected commercial centers for restaurants and tourist shopping.
But the main people moving would be by train and bus. Lots of buses, replacing jeepneys and small vehicles.
I was also struck by the recognition that pressure will come off of Manila when outlying areas develop stronger job growth. So pushing Cebu and Davao toward mega-cities can help. And of course, Clark (Green City) and other job centers outside the downtown area.
I’ve been in Tacloban for two days and was struck by the high level of development in Palo, a city on the outskirts that was absolutely wiped out by Yolanda. I wonder if people scooped up properties cheap after the storm and are now flipping them. Work crews are still fighting to tame the river that did a lot of the wiping out, as it erodes the reinforcements as soon as they are put in place. It’s about five meters from the main road now. Tense place to live . . . or invest . . . it seems to me.
The church (Pope Francis only stopped briefly before fleeing another oncoming storm) and new city center look great.
” I wonder if people scooped up properties cheap after the storm and are now flipping them. ”
They had the same problem in New Orleans, it got gentrified overnite. Where developers thought it would take them decades.
Who scooped up properties is the question?
I’m pleased to inform all who contribute that The Society of Honor has been accepted for nomination by the Bloggy Awards on the basis of it being a group blog with predominantly Filipino contributions. Evidently the blog received several nominations. The next step is voting to determine finalists . . .
The category is Social and Political commentary.
Congratz! Who’s gonna receive the award? And will there be an after party at your place with Tanduay and pork bellies?
I still read this rules and regulations at bloggy’s
Not allowed:
Blogs owned by foreign citizens targeting a non-Filipino audience.
Blogs owned primarily by foreign citizens (Even if it is targeted to a Filipino audience).
Medio ”self protecting”
😦
Anyway, the first prize is a free one week swimming lesson in the flooded streets of Manila 🙂
I explained that to the Bloggy rep, and he said that the determination was made that contributors (to articles and commentary) make the blog Filipino, which I agree, it is. Look at it from their standpoint, as well. How can you exclude, on a technicality, the one blog mentioned by President Aquino. That mention raised the importance of blogging to major-max level. It would diminish the Bloggys, I think, if the Society were not considered. All that is likely in their thinking. They make the rules, not me. I’m happy with the determination, for the brilliance of all the Filipino commentary here.
They made these rules and therefore can interpret them according to their real intent.
Unlike the Constitution and other laws regarding Grace Poe’s citizenship qualifications.
Yes, good distinction.
I dont mean to burst anyone’s bubble about being nominated to the Bloggys. Has anyone looked at past year awardees and noticed they are almost all unknown, inactive, and gone? Is anyone other than me bothered that Raissa Robles is not there? Surely she should be there and even Joe ranks her among the top bloggers in the country. This competition started in 2009 and halted after 2011 for lack of interest. This year it was revived after it found a new manager who makes a business of collecting articles from budding young writers and journalists and sharing the fee from placing the pieces with their local and international clientele. Were it not for whatever bragging rights Rappler and ABS adds to the contest by picking the winners, I would not be far off in saying this blogsite lends more prestige to the contest by being in it rather than the other way around based on its past history.Still I suppose, if this blogsite receives the award, there is some value to bring de lared and publicized as best blog in the country but that value may be insignificant to a loss in a contest that has had, such a, lackluster history.
2009–2011, 2015– maybe starting this year it will reach AVN Awards status. Hence the importance of MRP’s
diatribe, er… speech upon receipt of the award.I think the award may even have gone dead for a year or two. My own take on it is, great, let’s build up the award into something big and bold and promote blogging as a social force. I agree Raissa should be on the list, and maybe she is this year. Someone has to nominate her.
” let’s build up the award into something big and bold and promote blogging as a social force. “
That’s actually a very worth while endeavor, I take back my AVN Awards comments — though those girls are a social force in their own right.
She already is, I have looked at the list of nominees. Some other usual suspects as well.
But also some very surprising blogs with different strokes – two of them from cops:
pulisnapogi.blogspot.com and angmarinongpulis.blogspot.com
Well, we have to win it first, or be among the finalists, however that works. I may go myself if I can get a proper mask, you know, formal to suit the occasion. 🙂
Who are we up against, and can you do a blog for a compare & contrast?
I’d have to consult with the Bloggy people to find out whose in the category, and don’t want to do that. I’ll just let them do their thing and maybe drop off a note afterward as I learn from public sources.
Mar may be too late. There’s alreay a Venice of the East….Zhouzhuang city…Marco Poli himself called this the Venice of the East. Take a look.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the brook,
If you catch a little Junjun Binay
Please let it him off the hook
Row, row, row your boat
Watch the water flow,
Rowing’s fun rowing’s hard
As long as it is not thru Pasig River at the back of Malacanang
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the lake,
Don’t stand up and rock the boat
Because Korina is sunbathing by Pasig River at the back of Malacanang
Row, row, row your boat
See the water run,
Rowing here and rowing there
Stand up to get a glimpse of Grinning Korina
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down Pasig River,
Ha ha fooled ya all Hamilton Frigates guarding Peeping Toms instead Spratleys
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream for ya’ll but not for Korina the First Lady in Waiting
Row row row your boat
Gently down the Pasig
smelly smelly smelly smelly
This river is not clean
Row row row your boat
Gently down the Pasig
If Duterte is President
Bodies will swim here
Row row row your boat
Gently down the Pasig
If Binay becomes President
Crocodiles will sing
Row row row your boat
Gently down the Pasig
If Grace Poe is President
She will be Da Queen
Row row row your boat
Gently down the Pasig
If Mar becomes President
Hope it will get clean
Eat your heart out, Wilfred . . .
I like this Irineo.
btw remember that bangkang papel during the sona of Arroyo, pano kaya umabot ng Malacanang yon?
You are a piece of work, Mariano. It takes dynamite to get me laughing bc (before coffee), but you did it . . .
We need coffee proof keyboards,in the case of Edgar, Ovaltine proof keyboards.
Hindi pala Swiss quality ang sekreto ko. Hindi lang ako nagkakape sa harap ng computer.
Kung pati pala keyboard ninyo nababaha, wala na talaga akong magagawa, kayo talaga!
THIS ISMY LAST SHOUT IN THIS THIS THREAD:
RO-RO it is Roxas-Robredo, it is not a marriage, it is not about being partners, IT IS
ABOUT BEING A PATRIOTIC PAIR, probably made by heaven. Roxas – Robredo
it will be from 2016 thereafter when God has finally bless the Philippines.
Dear Joe Am
I hope you can post this, as perhaps a few expects it. I admire your tenacity for order and coherence because to re-arrange a Babel of comments is as difficult and tedious as putting one’s life short chapter in proper order.
Thanks from Popoy
———————————–
Happy humble (not victoriously gloating po.) from Popoy:
ASVEN could not be anything else but a development project in planning and execution. It could be a spin off, a piggy back, a forward linkage or backward linkage investment if ASVEN as presented here will be discussed even only in a brainstorming session by an interdepartmental think tank. Bawi na ang oras ko at ng mga namatay sa baha at bagyo.
ASVEN’s focused repeat focused objective is to solve recurrent destructive flooding in Metro Manila, its environs and elsewhere. Focus is flooding because of its repetitive huge social and economic costs to the country. ASVEN is not a colossal dream. It is not about the total problems of Juan de la Cruz. Not about the source of moolah of the snake medicine salesman. It is only a “privilege particle of the development process,” to borrow from Albert O. Hirschman, he of the “principle of the hiding hand”.
It is a humble excavation project as small or a large canal dug from the Quezon City Rotonda through the length of Espana passing the square island of UST, turning left at Quezon Blvd (as parallel traffic of Avenida Rizal and Dapitan) emptying, and if need be draining or taking in water from the Pasig River. Think of the excavated material enough for a landfill and a hill somewhere in San Andres or Culi-culi or as landfill in any bay to create a new settlement of the displaced . That’s the simple expectation warranted from a think tank with open minds, no defeatist attitude, simply wanting to solve instead of smart-alecky fighting the solutions to the flood problem. Also to accept that each and every member of the think tank– all of them individually are more intelligent and knowledgeable than the author of the project idea.
So in furtherance of the spirit of sharing more ideas, of gratitude for the amplification of certain project issues, if Joe Am will agree to post this, this is my thankful not think tankful combative reaction to within topic comments made on ASVEN up to only those posted up to Sept. 18, 12:29 am.
LEGAL FEASIBILITY:
karl garcia says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:18 pm
stumbling block: Right of Way, Lina Law.
excerpt for the pyramids all the other wonders are left to the imagination.
karl garcia says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:24 pm
All national land use legislations remain pending, urban planning is non existent, zoning-what zoning?
Thank you Karl G. ROW, Lina Law, Land use and urban planning, zoning are not really the stumbling blocks. Congress can be strong armed to move their butts. The problems are those enjoying luxuries now, who will lose such luxuries, who are salivating for the by-product luxuries from the project. Their shameless greed should be placed under control. POLITICAL WILL #1.
———————————–
Juana Pilipinas says:
September 18, 2015 at 12:36 am
Yet the Philippines is the home to a world reknowned urban planner, Jun Palafox. I wonder if he can be cloned so PH could have an army of architects and engineers who will give it a world class facelift.
Don’t know Jun Palafox, I’d prefer to try FIRST government experts from DOST, PW, etc. to do it on their own mettle. Not hire consultants and planners to do their jobs. That’s a source of big time corruption. Also Hire consultants to check your hired consultants. Ask NAPOCOR.
Irineo B. R. Salazar says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:32 pm
This looks like satire at first glance but some aspects make sense:
1) look for old maps of Manila and restore some old esteros to have run-off for water
I’ll forget numerous past failed efforts. Dig ‘em deep and wide for small speedboats and other small water vehicles, might replace tricycles or padyaks. POLITICAL WILL #2.
2) repeal the Lina law, clear the natural flood plains of the Pasig and Marikina rivers into parks.
Better build a few statues to advertise author of Lina Law. Call squatters squatters. Enact a law punishing any politician, Mayors or whatever who cuddle squatters. Establish drainage pattern in the plains and watershed and the parks, construct ponds for storage and recreation parks. POLITICAL WILL #3.
3) right of way will have to be repealed, common interest will have to supersede individual interest
Is eminent domain still provided in the constitution. ROW can make propertied politicians rich. Just compensation for influential and powerful land owners. POLITICAL WILL #4.
Decongesting Manila is definitely necessary, google “Metro Manila subsidence” so that the urgency is clear, not just pollution and traffic-wise – if no action is taken Waterworld will be real.
It is there in the AS VEN paper. Relocate temporarily or permanently people in the way of progress and safe environment. Do something on WHY it did not work before. Forget what VP Binay did to Makati squatters. Build (WITHOUT CORRUPTION) human settlements in
The highlands of Rizal and Laguna Provinc es.
mindanaoan says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:35 pm
what a waste of brain power. think of the traffic.
Thank you, I agree, my brain too at rare times can’t stand any kind of traffic when it is in its period of helplessness and hopelessness. This comment is likely to invite elucidating comments.
Juana Pilipinas says:
September 17, 2015 at 11:45 pm
Traffic will be alleviated if flood plains, natural tributaries and the Pasig River are turned into viable passages for alternative mode of transportation. To a small extent, that is being done already with Pasig River. Water taxis ferry people at a few destinations in Metro Manila now but they are not popular among commuters because of the Pasig River’s biological degradation. People complain about the stench, garbage and depressing views of the illegal settlers’ homes. These are problems that could be solved by mul ti-year biological rehabilitation projects that had been done in the lakes of Michigan and the River Thames. There is no quick and easy solution to the problem but the end result will benefit the country and its people.
Thanks Juana P. There you go on TRAFFIC. ASVEN to be focused is NOT about traffic gridlock. ASVEN is about floods. Juana Bless You, is pointing out nice traffic is only one of many serendipitous benefits of ASVEN. POLITICAL WILL # 5.
Mary Grace P. Gonzales says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:43 pm
The Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike (LLED) project can be considered Asia’s Venice. I think.
Sorry Ms MGPG, I won’t copy and paste LLED here. Too Long for unnecessary pasting. Suffice to say it’s another project, a backward linkage project to ASVEN, if it gets ample funding, ASVEN can piggy-back LLED. ASVEN is back stopping perennial waste and direct costs of excess water from precipitation. It is still to be determined whether water will be enough to sustain water surrouuded man made small islands in chronic looded Malabon, Navotas, etc. When there are no rains, ASVEN should be able to draw water from rivers and the Bays of Laguna and Manila. Inundation of rivers and bays; also flooding by siltation in the same way can not be solved by dredging, can not be solved by constructing overland infrastructures or expressways. Expressways and related infrastructure is the current King Solomon’s mines for profiteers, the bandwagon of viable investors. Roads and bridges and aqueduct are the snake medicine to flooding. POLITICAL WILL # 6.
Irineo B. R. Salazar says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:51 pm
sounds very similar to this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afsluitdijk
I once went by car on this dike/expressway, there is a monument in the middle to the Dutch as a people that builds. This is where I realized that Dutch unity was formed by overcoming the high water – after all there is the old story of Hendrik, the boy who kept his finger in the dyke and prevented his village from flooding – and that the first democratic entities there were the Water Management Authorities or Waterschapen in the Middle Ages.
Thanks Irineo B.R.S. Was surprised to learn too in the late sixties that the English didn’t hesitate to ask the Dutch for help on their water engineering problems. In those times too my co-worker doesn’t hesitate to recommend the Ifugaos for big high wall construction jobs.
Mary Grace P. Gonzales says:
September 17, 2015 at 4:46 pm
PROJECT COST:
Expressway Dike – PhP 64.914 B
Reclamation – PhP 57.897 B
Total – PhP 122.811 B
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT:
Right-of-Way – PhP 2.1 B
Viability Gap Fund-none required
Ms MGPG. Are those figures only for the direct cost? How much are the indirect social and economic costs? What’s the B/C ratio? Anecdotal: There was in mid seventies a consultant’s recommendation for NAPOCOR to build and establish a Power Education and Training College for Asia and the Pacific in their Caliraya with a lake property, costing 6-7 million US DOLLARS. When asked point blank the Englishman WB expert about the project taking off, he said there are two problems: The Office of the President of your country is sitting on a lot of projects and second this NAPOCOR Project Cost is so low it will not even be noticed in the World Bank. The point for ASVEN is : Project cost unless carpentered for massive kickbacks should NOT DAUNT doers of dreams.
Bert says:
September 17, 2015 at 5:08 pm
Mary’s LLED is in the planning stage already while Popoy’s ASVEN is still a dream.
Dream is free so let’s dream on.
Thanks Bert, How is that again? “Dream is free so let’s dream on.” Dream for free loaders? Many Dreams are NOT free. They are priceless and can be very costly. Lincoln, Rizal, Bonifacio, Tonio Luna, Mahondas Gandhi, Ninoy, Martin Luther King, Jr and many more in the pantheons of history paid with their lives so that the dreams of their suffering country men may become reality. For dreams must die so dreamers die too because of the bad dreams of the iniquitous. Please Bert like almost all of us h ere in Joe Am’s please share us even just three or more paragraphs of your dream that’s free that we may be enriched furthermore.
I must stop here Joe Am. Reading the comments at 3:30 am here. Why the response believe it or not by your society’s denizens, humb le heavyweights of their communities, certainly dreamers and realists- ARE BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAM – for a piece I wrote mostly long before the break of dawn. God Bless You Bert and your dreams, whether free or priceless it is a gift — God given it is from the most powerful energy in the universe, from our brains. I still wonder in death are dreams the only thing God allows us to take with us to heaven? Along with the memories of vivid images of loves ones who passed, so we recognize them when they meet us? BUT THAT’s not about ASVEN, eh?
“It could be a spin off, a piggy back” just be careful that some do not misread: piggy bank.
“It is a humble excavation project as small or a large canal dug from the Quezon City Rotonda through the length of Espana passing the square island of UST, turning left at Quezon Blvd (as parallel traffic of Avenida Rizal and Dapitan)”
Quezon Blvd in Manila – not to be confused with Quezon Avenue in QC – was an estero back in the days to that would just be restoring water to its natural flow.
” In those times too my co-worker doesn’t hesitate to recommend the Ifugaos for big high wall construction jobs.” LCPL_X recommended Badjaus – even better, they know this stuff.
“I’d prefer to try FIRST government experts from DOST, PW, etc. to do it on their own mettle. ” correct – consultants should only be resource people for specific areas. The brainpower is definitely there in the Philippines – it only has to be harnessed properly. Approaches can be adopted from abroad, in the days of the internet and digital libraries information is available, one just has to mix and match correctly and especially THINK! (IBM)
“Project cost unless carpentered for massive kickbacks should NOT DAUNT doers of dreams.” I am an IT consultant and was often called to do things considered impossible, unfundable or to fix systems and situations considered beyond repair. The recipe to succeed is very simple: DO FIRST WHAT IS NECESSARY, THEN WHAT IS POSSIBLE, EVENTUALLY YOU GET THE IMPOSSIBLE DONE. So why not start by digging away at Quezon Boulevard and build a flyover from Quezon bridge to España before flooding things so that the traffic will go straight. The Black Nazarene will become like Peñafrancia in Naga, a river procession, Plaza Miranda will become like the Venice’s Piazza San Marco.
Next step: ban private cars from the area between Rizal Avenue, Recto and Legardo, only electric tricycles or pedicabs allowed, and pedestrians. Renovate that part of Manila to make it really pleasant for tourists – I am sure that it can be. One small step at a time.
Maybe the DOST AGT monorail could be made operational in that crowded part of the city – it has a smaller footprint than the LRT and is completely locally made, replacing several jeepneys in the 120-seater version that is now on trial run in Bicutan. One has to dream…
The DOST AGT – thanks to the d0ctrine.com website by a Filipino traffic expert:
“LCPL_X recommended Badjaus – even better, they know this stuff.”
I don’t know if it’s ever gonna come out as a formal study, but US Navy SEALs have taken plenty of notes from these guys. Where the rest of Philippine society treats them like crap, the people who fancy themselves are masters in water, were humbled.
It’s high time the Philippines recognizes its true human resources.
Tausugs with their capacity to move fast and strike on high seas, combined with the marine and submarine deviousness of the Badjaus is something truly grand:
the perfect recipe to drive the Chinese off some of their manmade islands. They are playing dirty, so why not play dirty too: sorties a la Abu Sayyaf cum Tamil Sea Tigers against Chinese at night, drop a few Badjaus to plant high powered explosives – boom!
Popoy, the project cost will be shouldered by the private sector, as enumerated….Trident (joint venture among Ayala, MegaWorld, etc.) SM, etc. they will recoup their investments as they will operate it for 30 years, plus a new city will spring up in the reclaimed area where there will be immense business opportunities for them and employment for our middle and lower class. This is truly big, will start construction in the 1st half of next year.
Your ASVEN dream will be next, hopefully when Mar wins.
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR The Society of Honor has been accepted for nomination by the Bloggy Awards on the basis of it being a group blog with predominantly Filipino contributions. Evidently the blog received several nominations. The next step is voting to determine finalists . . .
Aha! Ha! Ha! Ha! the looney Bloggy Awards backed down. They should back down. History, facts, DepEd-approved-textbooks, addiction to Made-in-USA, English language, UP textbooks, Philippine-Government-Approved-Appointed-National-Hero Jose Rizal, anything that moves is dependent on FOREIGNERS not some looney Bloggy Filipinos.
I know you Bloggy Award jurists are reading and following me. Goot dog! Goot dog! The world is against you. If you did not, you are just bunch of Elite-School hypocrites !!!!
Hey, Bloggy Award, what about recommending go-to best school for crooks? Any recommendation Bloggy?
I think you should receive the award on behalf of Joe ( so he can remain anonymous ) and do a long diatribe ala Kanye West on behalf of all of us, MRP.
Aha! Ha! Ha! Kanye West is a dangerous American presidential candidate than Donald Trump. Comparing Kanye against Donald is like comparing comedian against a demagogue.
Currently, in the absence of goot presidential candidate, I am rooting for Donald Trump. America needs to be fixed. Fences along the border. Fixing immigration to put the meaning back on “immigration” so I can be proud again to be called “immigrant” like all before me.
These border jumpers and breeders of anchor babies should be stopped caling themselves as “immigrant” and must also be stopped qutoing “this land is a land of immigrant”.
The immigrant of the days yonder made America today. The current immigrants are just sucking what my parents built. We are even afraid to arrest those Qataris racing their million-dollar street-legal sports car in Beverly Hills blowing thru stop signs just because 26% of Beverly Hills residents are IRANIAN !!! Yes, Virginia, Beverly Hills are not owned by Americans anymore but by IRANIANS !!!! They used to have a Middle Eastern Mayor WHILE PHILIPHINOS ARE STILL FIGHTING AGAINST GRACE POE BECAUSE SHE’S AN AMERICAN.
Donald will put a stop on this. As to Kanye West? I’d say she stick Kim Kardashian. Kim’s family got a huge family fight. If Kanye can fix Kardashian’s family problem, he can fix America.
Hmmmmmm …… Sounds like Mar & Korina. Mar cannot come clean with the public on Korina. Mar does not want his picture taken with Korina and splash it over Inquirer. EVEN BENIGNO IS AFRAID OF HIS PICTURE TAKEN WITH KORINA …
Whereas Heart& Chiz and Grace&her husband has already released their family picture. THE FILIPINOS ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE FAMILY PICTURE OF MAR’s.
MAYBE MAR IS NOT PROUD OF HIS FAMILY.
“If Kanye can fix Kardashian’s family problem, he can fix America.”
That is a great slogan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🙂
I heartily agree
That would be the last bloggy we ever got nominated for, but it for sure would be entertaining.
To make ASVEN a reality, they have to hire China’s contractors that built airstrip in the middle of China-Philippine Sea. This is how fast China did the airstrip. Philippines doesn’t have spy satellite they rely on Google. No Google, no map. First pass of Google Satellite, there was a speck of rock guarded by post-apocalypse carcass of Philippine transport. 2nd pass, Chinese were reclaming the rock. 3rd pass by Google satellite, voila! there is already an airstrip.
As to ASVEN, it will take a 3rd pass of Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake which will happen not in my lifetime.
I am not saying we shouldn’t dream. What I am saying when we dream, let us make it happen in our lifetime free-and-clear of corruption provided they do not involve UP graduates.
Fresh off Malacanang kitchen staff. No! No! No! Not the source of Tulfo who told him what transpired between the meeting of Benigno and Jejo Binay when Benigno told Jejo to drop the plan running for presidency so Benigno’s attack dogs would not run after him.
Last night it’s been kicked around what to do with Korina Sanchez Bruha reputation. Several suggestions on the table:
1. Release Korina from tiger cell to resurrect and soften her image as maid-beating bruha. Force news network tv to give her a show interviewing poor pathetic soulless people in the most despicable place. Cry with them. Sympathize with them. No make up. No designer clothes. No perfume.
a. 1st they will have someone check out a despicable place where Korina is not known to be the wife of presidential hopeful Mar Roxas.
b. Once these are identified, she’ll be sent as pseudo-journlaist to laugh and makikiramay with them
2. Into the runup of election campaign, Korina will be made to apologize without denying and admitting to the housemaid she beated up. Zoom in on her face, with Kleenex in hand shed crocodile tears
(As you know people, crying always make Filipinos vote like Cory and Benigno. IT WORKS ALL THE TIME)
So, people, there will be a show in the offing. I suggest the show should be titled. KORINA and the YANGETS Show.
If the show is effective, Mar Roxas will release picture-perfect family picture with Korina Sanchez andBenigno Aquino.
See what people do to take over Malacanang? Oh, by the way, Benigno is saddened for not knowing that Korina is a heavy baggage. Maybe the show will soften Korina’s Bruha Image.
The solution is very simple: Noynoy will help Mar and send his sister Kris to coach Korina. What will be very interesting is Korina’s learning process and the intermediate results.
Korina is a fast learner. She can learn. I am hoping so.
Some quarters asked me what Korina has to do with Mar’s running for president. I ask them back, what Hilary’s lawfirm shenanigan got to do with Bill Clinton’s presidency. They fell silent.
The US is what Philippines is measured from. What happens in the US happens in the Philippines. When Bill Clinton was impeached, Philippines followed suit not with one impeachment but SEVERAL IMPEACHMENTS !!!
So, Korina, listen! You have to come clean and rid yourself of that hooty touty bruha classy image if you wanted to be the First Lady. Mind your manners. No elbows on dining tables. Talk when talked to. Forget about your travels, Yves Saint Laurent perfume instead come down to earth and talk about boxing and Azkals. The Filipinos will love you.
Stop eating wagyu, we want to see you mamalengke sa Quiapo Market. 2ndly, stop pinching and covering your nose. Kung mabaho sila, mas mabaho ka rin even with perfume.
Believe me, if you follow what I instructed you to do you will be the First Lady of the Philippines born in Hong-Kong. Oh, poor Grace Poe.
Once Mar wins, First Lady Korina Sanchez-Roxas will be the ambasaddor to Hong-Kong and peace will forever reign in China Sea.
Mag-bait ka Korina. This is your 2nd and last shot at playing First Lady of the Philippines.
Ano ka ba naman Mariano, pati tangalok mo gidbaluktot mo??
slang ka pala Mariano, magpakabait.
another Mae West fan.
It is a double entendre, mercedes. Bait as in Korina being a lure for the mutant fish in Pasig River and “behave” in conio.
Speaking of UP, this little tidbit of information came across Raissa Robles’ blog:
mark says:
September 19, 2015 at 1:58 am
The mother of Chiz easily facilitated GPoe’s proclamation in UP because of her influence in the state university. Evie Escudero was a longtime member of the up alumni assn as well as university regent. Now a congresswoman from Bicol, she also got the franchise to operate a restaurant inside the campus that catered to well-heeled faculty members and students during her association with UP. Her late husband
Sonny Escudero was dean of the veterinary medicine in the seventies who later was appointed agriculture secy by Pres. Marcos. Chiz while chairman of the senate education committee also occupied a regent’s post in a concurrent capacity. Thats how the UP authorities readily agreed to offer the bahay ng alumni as launching pad for Poe’s presidential ambition despite strong objections from various sectors of the UP community.
Someone said that a Poe presidency will usher in again the Marcos era. Escudero, Zamora, Roberto Ongpin (alphaland and the mining stocks and Phil Stock Exchange inside trading scam), Estrada, Cojuangco and a lot more. They will surely influence the appointments of the 11 associate justices of the SC as well as in the CA and the rest of the lower courts. Oligarchs and Marcos again with their stranglehold of the economy, Poe, what have you done?…aaaarrrrgh!
I want to say aaargh too. My dad is being influenced by his principal Trillanes to support Poe, and My mom and sister is listening to him. I am outnumbered, but I am still for Roxas.
I think magdalo has marching orders to support Poe.
Don’t worry, Karl. Whoever sits in Malacanang will likely be a crook !!!! Malacanang could be cursed. Philippine Government must build another presidential palace …
One with a sewage system.
No UP grad in the Palace!
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES is a cesspool of crooks !!!! VOTE FOR A PRESIDENT THAT WILL DEFUND UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES AND NOT APPOINT ANYONE WHICH IS ALUMNUS OF U.P.
It looks like I have no other choice but to vote for Mar regardless Mar married to a Hong-Kong citizen who has not renounced her Hong-Kong citizenship yet.
https://pasigriverwatch.wordpress.com/ – interesting blog!
MRP, you are partly right like so very often: https://pasigriverwatch.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/que-horror/
Architect and urban planner Jun Palafox recently discovered that Malacañang Palace has no sewage system…
Can you imagine all these years how much presidential s – has gone to the river?
Aha! ha! ha! ha! If Malacanang cannot even construct sewage system in their own premises how much more major sewage in Metro Manila? When Korina becomes First Lady, I will position myself down river to catch Korina’s sewage and sell it at eBay.
A mirror of what happened to River Thames. Like Pasig River, it was once pronounced “biologically dead” because of effluents but is now thriving again due to government and citizens’ efforts.
http://www.isciencemag.co.uk/features/thames-back-from-the-dead/
For a long term solution to sewer overflow on River Thames, a “super sewer tunnel” had been approved last year and on its way to realization:
http://londonist.com/2015/08/what-is-the-thames-tideway-tunnel
Que horror, indeed….ok…excluding 2 presidents. who opted not to live in the palace…Ex-President Cory lived in the Executive Mansion if I recall correctly, while PNOY lives in Bahay Pangarap
We all panicked In Maynillad affected areas when they announced they would do a major repair, we bought three drums. we forgot we live in Paranaque and we have a tank,even before Maynilad took over.
We need a nationwide sewage repair. Palafox needs to be cloned and his clone must not have any politician enemy.
Or adopt the approach of Dutch water boards in the Middle Ages: death penalties for those who seriously pollute water or increase flood risk. I wrote about that above.
Kamay na Bakal o kaya Artikulo Uno style, iyon ang kailangang paminsan-minsan. The Dutch not only defended their land which they created themselves out of water against the sea, they also defended it against German nobles – and against the Spanish colonizers. For all their looking nice and friendly today, they are actually quite decisive – they were ruthless slave traders in colonial times after all. Just like the Belgians who seem nice and friendly today were very ruthless in the Congo, make no mistake, they are decisive. Luna learned his military theory from a Belgian General for one year, so do not be surprised.
“Liberty is a virtue of the vicious” said Oscar Wilde. Or Luna might have said for all we know: “kailangan minsan ang maging marahas para ipagtanggol ang mga bagay na mahalaga” – but since he is not documented as saying it, I am saying it myself, now. Kasamang Ryan’s favorite national hero was – not surprisingly – General Antonio Luna. Because he knew that for some things you have to pay the price, even if it may hurt.
“We need a nationwide sewage repair”
karl,
I know most homes over there sit on top of septic tanks, and those that don’t have septic tanks people just poop in the river, or if they’re on the coast, the sea is their toilet.
Over here, our sewage gets processed ( just to make sure it’s clean enough ) so it can be dumped into the open ocean by way of a really long pipe– when there’s a storm the processing plant gets inundated with crap and other stuff that it has to dump it just off the coast, surfers are the ones that feel it the next day ( diarrhea, vomiting, pink eye, etc. ).
Over here I’ve witnessed septic back flow problems and also sewage spills , both pretty gross.
Because of the drought, everyone’s rethinking how to best use potable water, ie. using perfectly clean drinkable water to flush down poop just does not make sense anymore.
The nation of Cascadia has been the fore-runner for anything sustainable and environmentally sound over here, so we’re re-learning all this stuff from them, but I guess it’s been around, chempo remembers it in Singapore, so do other older folks,
So, my question is, can this Humanure System ( bucket toilet to the garden, then harvest ) be done over there?
Fertile grounds for sure.
I just do not understand. The latest (been arround for some time) technology for waste disposal — practically any type of waste, is out there but few are making a beehive for it. It’s Isreali developed technology using hot plasma technology. One ton of waste converted into energy leaving behind an ounce of dust. Consumes relatively less power, emits nothing into environment, process time within hours and using very small foot-prints. Toxic wastes just poooof disappears. Why are’nt governments excited about this I just don’t understand.
environmentalist still call plasma arc tech incineration.
“Pyrolysis, gasification, plasma arc, cement kilns, and other waste incineration technologies are what we vehemently oppose since they inevitably release toxic substances to the environment posing serious health and environmental hazards, destroy finite resources, and kill our thriving recycling industry,“ Mendoza said.’
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/628538/groups-oppose-garbage-incineration#ixzz3m9jSfBIr
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
here is one feasibility study.(Iowa)
Click to access NAWTEC18-3502.pdf
Plasma arc is no incineration in that there is no release of toxic gas, it’s all converted into energy that can be harnesses. The residue is just a tiny speck of dust you can hold in your hands.
Garbage disposal is of of the biggest mafia industry lorded over by LGUs. There’s lots of dirty money in the garbage business. In other countries we pay to get garbage cleared, in Philippines the lowest of the lowest in the service chain, pays mayors ++ for the privilege to collect trash.
No entreprenuer has ever been able to introduce any sensible waste disposal technology into Philippines. The current manual system is every mayors’ cash cow.
They are worried that it will kill recycling, the system includes sorting out recyclables before processing. There is nothing to fear.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/18809/us-firm-offers-to-construct-450-m-plasma-power-plant
since 2011,it never launched.
At least not all waste to fuel tech is rejected.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/700610/pasig-plant-turns-trash-into-fuel
Good to see Pasig spear heading this.
Wonder what happened to Cebu project.
Cebu project is huge, based on older plasma technology. The new ones I was referring to has much smaller foot-prints and much much lower capital requirements with no waste products, all converted into electricity. You can actually throw faeces in.
thanks, fellas… this plasma arc stuff’s really interesting. chempo, have you seen this work in person? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_gasification_commercialization
If Bill Gates Supports it, it must be a good investment.
http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/57351-bill-gates-invests-in-new-toilet
electrifying sh_t !
Hi Lcpl
I have not personally seen it work. But friends last year tried to get a Jap version in. Had some talks with interested parties, went around a couple of mayors, some local funders interested in participating. All talks as usual, some fraudulent guys mesquarading as fixers, funders etc..basically, the municipals has no interest unless they have personal benefits. So it fizzled out. Golden goose got killed before it can lay eggs.
It is, but not so very active. Bogged down in plastic perhaps.
A fifteen year old from Mindanao won first prize for his invention of plastic using bio-degradable nata de coco….hooray for another Filipino inventor acknowledged worldwide. This plastic will solve a lot of environmental problems like flood, death of fish and birds. Another possible by-product of our very own coconut.
And here is the link for that fantastic news.
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/amin-hataman-invents-biodegradable-plastic-nata-de-coco/
Thanks, karl…the best ka talagang CL/CTanod
Just got home from watching Heneral Luna. It depressed me. Why do I feel we are just a story in the Cloud Atlas movie?
As the song goes, my friend, regardless of who one is now, be it Trump or Lucio, we all eventually end up as dust in the wind. So cheer up or even bottoms up ☺
🙂
Don’t be depressed, or else you will be like me, seeing a therapist aka psychiatrist and taking anti depressants. It is a hassle to my pocket.
Seen the movie yesterday,the fiction part was that zombie scene, they shot Luna at close range about a hundred times and he would not die.
The rest are true to life. I wish we had trains that move that fast from province to province in minutes.
cheers Karl thanks!
Cheers!
I won’t watch it, then…politics is depressing enough.
The comments on the Facebook page of the movie are very interesting though – shows that people are waking up to a lot of things. Because just by looking at the trailer and the teasers plus the making of features – unfortunately I cannot watch it here wala pang DVD – it is different from the typical heroic movies. It shows historical figures in a natural way, which makes it easier for people to relate to them – and actually learn some hard lessons – iyong video ng theme song ni Ebe Dancel, nakakakilabot din, just look for it on Youtube.
Seems like Heneral Luna is the “Braveheart” equivalent for a Philippine historical movie – real quality and realistic portrayals. No perfect heros, no total villains. Not even Aguinaldo – he is shown as someone who is trying to survive, much like many trapos today are doing. SM removed the movie in many places after one week and put it back after heavy protests – some comments on Facebook compare Henry Sy to Paterno and Buencamino before, more interested in their business than in the country. So mukhang napapaisip ang tao.
Ireneo,
Have you ever seen Live Show , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Show_(film) ?
We watched this thinking it was gonna be some Filipino porn flick ( Badjao pirate DVD said so ), it turned out to this big social commentary, that was both titillating and subversive .
I’ll have to watch this “Heneral Luna” just to see what gian’s all sad about.
Yes, Live Show (Toro) I know about, as well as Boatman, also social commentary…
As for Antonio Luna, I think there were showings in LA, NY, Dubai for the Filipino community, but otherwise it just started in the Philippines, no DVDs yet – this is the trailer:
LCX,
Toro is live sex,in case you don’t have a pinoy buddy beside you translating.
To me what’s depressing is the pragmatism of businessmen,and of course the treachery. and those Yanks(no offense) killing the helpess.
It made me hate our first president, that is depressing for me,
What’s the most depressing is Filipinos unable to stick together, like always. Luna meant well – even if he was harsh and often arrogant – but some took it VERY personally.
LCX: the guy hitting General Luna with a bolo in the trailer is the same guy he threatened with a pistol and jailed for insubordination – his troops refused to help him in a battle.
The most fascinating character in the film, I think, is Mabini who tries to mediate.
The enemy is us.
It is about poltics.Aguinaldo descendants must find a new last name. First it was the movie Supremo,now this. The El president movie is not enough to glorify Aguinaldo.
Mary, the movie has some fun parts.
The enemy is us.
Am not a fan of Aguinaldo, much less the Revillas….corruption and tendency for violence are genetic, I think
I still recommend the movie, lots of history lessons, we will realize that we should always be united. Heneral Articulo Uno threatened other camps to gather support was a funny scene when you see it yourself. His escapades with his wife was fun for us boys. The toughness of Mrs. Luna even reminded me of you Mary,see it.It is a must see.
Your last sentence is much appreciated, karl…thanks. Ok you win, I’ll watch it.
Karl,
When I came across your “The enemy is us,” this came to mind almost instantly (no kidding):
http://j.mp/wfa-pogo
Having shared that, let me say this:
Some – perhaps, many – are turned off by the shortcuts I share. Some see it as self-promotion.
The “wfa” in the shortcut stands for
“Worldwide Filipino Alliance”
a discussion group of that name that includes
Sen. Rene Saguisag
among its more than 1,000 “subscribed” members.
(It is free to subscribe to or join the group. No, no, I do not “own” the site. Its owner has actually commented a few times here at JoeAm’s.)
I created the shortcut about three years ago.
Although I had an idea, of course, of what I would find by clicking on the shortcut, I must say I was duly rewarded for trying.
I got led (serendipitously?) to something that talks of “faith,” among other things.
Beyond Perception – by Chuck Missler
Yes, it is about politics and the murderous ambition of Emilio Aguinaldo to be the sole uncontested military and political power and head of the revolution. Gregorio Zaide and earlier historians hid Aguinaldo’s dark role in assasinating Bonifacio the leader of the Katipunan movement and founder of the national revolution against the centuries old Spanish regime. Professor Ambeth Ocampo who has an editorial column in the Inquirer occasionallyprovides some counterweight to the fiction that passes for the histoical record of the Philippine revolution. In addition, he adds precious nuggets of historical info about its main characters including rarely seen candid photos of these figures. Antonio Luna was originally a chemist in Europe, a fencing master and teacher, before becoming a general. It was Rizal who was a crackshot and Ocampo recounts a drunken orgy where Luna dissed a lady friend of Rizal’s. Hot words were exchanged and a duel issued with the choice of weapons falling to Rizal before other mutual friends, namely brother Juan, intervened and cooled things off. Not sure where General Luna’s sharpshooter rep came from but he would have been at Rizal’s mercy.
Following is a link to Professor Ocampo’s facebook page with a selection of his rare historic photos and links to his recent Luna articles.
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=47261762634
http://filipinogerman.blogsport.eu/philippine-history-part-ii-state-section-2/ – I also quote Ocampo in this very condensed summary, which has the links between the early Republic and the Propaganda Movement that came before it. What I just found out reading up on the Luna movie was that General Alejandrino (the bearded one) not only composed the Spanish original version of “Bayan Ko”, but also wrote a book on the war decades later.
There is a study guide on the Luna movie website, might follow on some loose ends there.
The Luna/Aguinaldo conflict is mentioned in Malolos: Crisis of the Republic by Agoncillo – but more details came from Ocampo and Xiao Chua – the latter has a weekly TV show…
On the Heneral Luna Facebook page, there is a satire of the conflict between Luna and Rizal about Belgian lady Nelly Boustead – both were after her and Rizal was faster…
It is a Youtube video titled “Ilustrado problems”, in a somewhat lighter comedy style..
http://filipinogerman.blogsport.eu/philippine-history-part-ii-state-section-1/ – here I briefly mention the Aguinaldo-Bonifacio conflict. While I do write that Aguinaldo was a local politician, I did not put in detail that the first local elections were held at the end of Spanish rule in the 1890s and he was elected then. So Aguinaldo was not only the prototype trapo, he was the prototype provincial warlord politician of which the Philippines has had many.
It reminds me of a moment I was very shocked – because it hit me like cold water. A now deceased German friend of mine told me: you Filipinos have never really been in charge of your own destiny. Shocking at first but the more I thought about the more it sounded true. Sequel to that: a recent conversation with a friend who was once French Foreign Legion and has been around much regarding Mamasapano/MILF and Ayungin Shoal. He told me: Filipinos slept too long, now events have forced you to wake up, but it might be too late.
Third episode – because there is always not just a sequel, usually it is a trilogy – is my own opinion of things right now. Yes, Filipinos have not really been in charge, yes the true awakening was recently – but it is not too late if the community takes charge right now – everybody knows what is wrong, especially those at home will have to take the steps to move things in the right direction and mobilize those who are not yet awake to get moving.
Make your mark ireneo dont let abaya be the representative of Pisay Graduate as a Public Servant.
Thanks – but because of his track record.
Not because he allegedly is descended from Aguinaldo – something that I read in Facebook recently, with memes showing General Luna getting mad at Manila traffic.
His mother is a grand daughter of Aguinaldo.
I give him chance to stay away from it all for a few years, and when he returns,not to accept anything he cannot offer anything outside his expertise, or capabilities.
He might have been good in DOST,or DND.He studied law maybe aside from DOJ,somewhere else.
It is interesting how everything “stays in the family” in the Philippines. Another descendant of Aguinaldo is former Marcos Prime Minister Cesar Virata – an excellent economist.
Whereas I think – I am not sure on this it might be another ilustrado family – that Raissa’s mother is a Pardo de Tavera, which is why I NEVER mention the name Luna over there.
That name is taboo every since Juan Luna murdered his wife, Paz Pardo de Tavera, out of jealousy – and his mother-in-law, wounding his brother-in-law. Another hotheaded Luna.
This whole thing about judging people by their ancestors is wrong – if you look at the history of European royalty, especially the English it is also a very mixed bag. Henry VIII was definitely a psycho, but his daughter Elisabeth I was a great leader, while her half-sister Mary was just as psycho as her father combined with the religious intolerance of her Spanish Catholic mother. So the two children of Marcos who are Senators today – everything points to Grace Poe being Marcos’ daughter – should be judged on their own.
That “illegitimate” children were adopted by a brother or a friend to cover up things is something very common in the Philippines – there is a story like that in my family too dating back to my grandfather’s time. In fact I think that is the ace that Grace Poe has up her sleeve in case everything else fails and her natural-born citizenship is not recognized. But like in pusoy (Pinoy poker), you keep the ace for the last cards if you have only one.
Regarding Juan Luna, it was more of a class thing combined with jealousy back then. Lunas mother-in-law owned the house in Paris were the couple stayed, Pardo de Taveras were richer and “whiter” (more sosyal in todays vocabulary) than the Lunas. In fact if I remember Ambeth Ocampo’s stories correctly, Juan Luna often bailed out his younger brother Antonio money-wise – with money from his mother-in-law. Antonio allegedly was not so good with money as a young man, some vices if I remember correctly, but a lot of ilustrados abroad were like that. So they were all typical Pinoys, each in their own way.
Which is why I posted a photo of MH del Pilar, Rizal and a third ilustrado in my blog – the third one has a typical Pinoy posing facial expression and grin, back in the 19th century. Or the sabong picture I posted – one very “porma”, the other obviously showing “inggit”.
As for the Luna movie, I think the character most like Karl there is Captain Rusca from reading the reviews – a person who often makes corny remarks with deeper meaning.
The sabong drawing by a Frenchman, early 1800s. The one on the right very smug, obviously showing off – even the cross is part of it. The one to the left – crab mentality.
And the ilustrado foto – the one to the right, Mariano Ponce, has a typical kodakan facial expression, I can imagine him raising his eyebrows, Pinoy-style when talking.
Which goes to show that mentalities adapt to the times, but the basic traits remain the same, just like every American is in my opinion a mixture of pioneer, preacher and businessman. LCPL_X is more the pioneer, Joe more the preacher/businessman… finally that is why you have to adapt whatever you borrow from abroad to the local culture because it only changes slowly over generations. Something with the Heneral Luna movie shows very strongly – that the people 120 years ago were not much different from today.
What is also striking in all old fotos of Rizal with others is that he is usually the tallest.
While fotos of him fencing/sparring with either of the two Lunas show they were short. Possibly played a role in their personalities – coolness versus hotheadedness…
Ireneo,
I totally agree with pioneer.
Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney attempt a senate run for the state of Wyoming. She’s not from Wyoming. And figured all conservatives are the same, so she figures it was like the South and Mid-West (Bible thumpers), so throws her lesbian sister ( Mary ) under the bus as sacrifice– thinking that stunt would garner her votes.
Turns out Wyoming, isn’t filled with preachers and businessmen, but pioneers and to pioneers family is more important than any other bs out there. So Liz Cheney quit the Senate race– turns out family betrayal doesn’t poll too well in Wyoming. LOL!
Cheer up, we can be change agents for a better future. I take that back,we ARE change agents!!! 🙂
Agree. We ARE.
yeah we are change agents.:-)
And I’m happy that Giancarlo is back and posting!
Ditto
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ph.gov.dost.noah.android&hl=en – another app:
This mobile app was developed by Rolly Rulete in cooperation with Project NOAH and with the partnership of Smart Communications, Inc. through the Smart Developer Network (SMART DevNet). Content and data come from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and its participating agencies.
Project NOAH’s (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) mission is to undertake disaster science research and development, advance the use of cutting edge technologies and recommend innovative information services in government’s disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. Though the use of science and technology and in partnership with the academe and other stakeholders, the DOST through Program NOAH is taking a multi-disciplinary approach in developing systems, tools, and other technologies that could be operationalized by government to help prevent and mitigate disasters.
FEATURES:
1. Map View
– PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility)
– Overview (MTSAT, Rainfall Contours, Chance of Rain, etc)
– Doppler (Subic, Tagaytay, Cebu, Hinatuan, Tampakan)
– Sensors (Weather Stations, Stream Gauges, Rain Gauges, Tide Levels)
– Weather Outlook (Probablity of Rain, PAGASA Typhoon Forecast)
2. List View
– Almost the same with Map View but presented as list for ease of use.
3. News
– DOST-PAGASA
– ClimateX
– PAGASA-FFWS (Flood Forecasting and Warning Section)
4. Help
– Help articles and guidelines
5. Info
– Information Dashboard
– Useful links and contents
* plus status notifications for “Probability of Rain”
* share screenshot (in almost all views) or text contents (News) via applications (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bluetooth, Gmail, etc)
* the app is themeable! (Holo Light [default theme] OR Holo Dark)
* supports animated overlays (MTSAT, Doppler, Chance of Rain)
* improved caching for performance and offline usage
* very flexible Settings
http://www.gov.ph/2013/06/19/dpwh-report-flood-management-master-plan-for-metro-manila-and-surrounding-areas/
If they all won’t work, time to consider ASVEN
This is a way to clean up Pasig.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioremediation
But we need a lot of micro-organisms.And relocation of all factories,businesses and residents,even malacanang
In our off topic research, we found out that there are tons of studies and projects.
Of course we know that continuity is a problem,but before we talk about continuity,have we considered feasibility? I already mentioned we are change agents. We must ask questions,whatever happened to this project so and so? Hey this might work here,or something to that effect.
Let us keep up the good work.
Exactly – only what really gets done counts in the end. Almost all possible ideas already exist, so start getting mad when money is again wasted on the next expensive study. Better to select individual high-priority projects and get them done quickly to have some results.
At the LLED project is ready to be launched, 1st semester of next year.
Guys, please be reminded that we’re forgetting something here in this thread in our haste to discuss the technical aspects of this ASVEN project. Our candidate Mar Roxas.
You’re right. Politicans are sorting themselves out, jumping fences, riding the band wagon, protecting their self interests, businessmen, too.
Poe has attracted practically all the former Marcos cabinet members…Escudero (the son), Zamora, Roberto Ongpin, Cojuangco, Estrada…i have mentioned this in other threads, a Poe presidency will usher in the return of the Marcos era, they will be trying their damned best to influence the choice of appointments of the 11 associate justices in the SC, CA, lower courts, the BOC…happy days are here again…or have they left at all, detention of the alleged plunderers notwithstanding? The oligarchs are here to stay whoever is the president, much like in the US….they control the election funding, they help elect the candidates of their choice and the reap the rewards afterwards – lobbying, rent seeking, influence peddling…at least with Mar, it will not be that disgusting
“The oligarchs are here to stay whoever is the president, much like in the US…”
.. or over here in Germany – Bavaria has its own local moguls as well. There always will be those who have more and try to get the sweet deals for themselves with the help of politicians favorable to their business. The only remedies are the following:
1. Transparency – so at least newcomers have a chance in bidding for state business.
2. SMEs – something only Bam Aquino is visibly concentrating on. They are the backbone of Germany’s prosperity by the way, if they were not there the big industrialists/bankers of Deutschland AG (Germany Inc.) would have even more power. But they have to keep fighting to be represented properly, which is why in local/state elections over here I always vote for candidates who are freelancers or SME owners and not typical career politicians.
3. Citizen participation and freedom of information – pretty much everything can be accessed by interested citizens over here. District council meetings are open to residents, all they have to do to attend is show their national IDs. Minutes of city council meetings including attachments can be accessed on the Internet, so those who want to be informed can be – but even over here you have the crowd that is more interested in entertainment and consumerism than in being active citizens, or those who simply have too much work.
What you also have here is the breed of politicians who concentrate on welfare recipients – because the state provides for housing and stuff, they are not squatters here – as voters. So the good fight is always an uphill fight, even in more organized countries.
“lobbying, rent seeking, influence peddling…” Raiding, Trading and Feasting is the name of an Ateneo de Manila University Press on the pre-colonial Philippine datu system.
It is interesting because it shows that datus formed loose alliances based on patronage both towards other datus – sister cities, anyone – and subjects – birthday cakes, anyone.
“at least with Mar, it will not be that disgusting” – and hopefully those like Bam Aquino and Cayetano (who is also doing some stuff to make it easier for normal people to get an education and start their own businesses, not only the big buys) can do more so that average people have more of a chance to make a decent living, like Joe has written the middle class is the backbone. In fact societies with a sizable middle class are the most stable and democratic – see Western Europe. America has the problem that its middle class has gotten poorer and smaller since Reaganomics. Eastern Europe and Russia are examples of barbaric neoliberalism, with very rich and very poor people, little middle class. Russian politicians often are like Binay – they buy the very poor, the alcoholics, the losers.
You paint a reality picture so vividly, Irineo, so vivid to be depressing. But we should not be daunted by this harsh reality, we must get involved in our nation building and awaken in every single countryman of ours that spirit that seems dormant, overtaken by survival instinct.
Back to the topic, (we will back to politics later in the day, when Joe publishes his latest article)…
I have this obeservaton re the ongoing projects here in our place to mitigate or solve our flood problems…
Calling the engineering department of the city, or the DPWH in other parts where there projects ongoing for the flood control prevention….I truly appreciate these projects but please, can you assign some quality control guys over there?..oftentimes the earth dug up are left lying around instead of delivering them to landfills, they stay near where they were dug up, they end up occupying the giant concrete tunnels almost halfway, is that effective or what? The contractors don’t care, they are just interested in finishing their project. No matter how big the tunnels are, if they are filed with dug earth and trash, water will still end up on the roads.
Metro aids can even be seen sweeping dusts towards the drainage system instead of depositing them to their wheelbarrows…aaarrgh!
” The contractors don’t care, they are just interested in finishing their project.”
Hehe that is true in almost any business, even mine. You are right, quality control is needed, contractors need to be kept on their toes, you need people to audit them always so that they will get into the habit of doing things right. And it might be an idea to introduce a rating system to evaluate the reliability of contractors so that it goes not only by price. Having to bid cheap can lead to cutting corners in the wrong places. That is the reality.
Reality sucks….so the contractors don’t care but shouldn’t govrnment care enough to place there a QC guy?
I remember seeing a Japanese who is so hands on in overseeing every little detail in a flyover they are constructing.
That is what is lacking in most of Filipino led contractors.
Correct – government should place a quality control guy, anything else is gross negligence.
And a contractor should of course supervise well, because it is usually the foot soldiers who are careless. In absence of good habits, make ISO a must.
Or the kind of QA you have in call centers / BPO outfits where everything is detailed to make sure people know exactly what they are doing. Because ISO can also become a bureacratic nightmare, a pointless exercise in creating paper. Tapos sa Pilipinas pa…
Mary, I have seen worse. Contractors for river dredging dump the sands a hundred metres away. After the months of rain, they flow back into the river. My contractor friend told me this is the modus operandi. Because the mayors took a chunk out of the project cost, they don’t have enough cash to take care of disposal. Mayors don’t mind they leave the sand by the side. So both parties happy. When rain sends the sand back into the river, they say that’s natural replacement. My contractor friend says that’s common practice and pretty much public knowledge. It’s all pretending, sucker the taxpayers.
Chempo, that reminds me of PNOY’s rejection of a Laguna Lake dredging project by a foreign company, which Gov. Ejercito (Estrada’s nephew) keeps on harping as the cause of unsolved flooding problems in southern Laguna and eastern parts of Taguig and Pasig. The reason for PNOY’s rejection is the lack of provision for the dredged silt to be taken away from the lakeshore for rains to send back to the lake as you mentioned. Instead PNOY had a study made which led to this LLED project due for construction in May next year. I so like hands on guys in the executive department, one who studies in detail all the briefings placed on his table instead of just signing and approving everything specially when he sees a percentage of it deposited in his secret accounts the way Marcos did in his time.
“Please Bert like almost all of us h ere in Joe Am’s please share us even just three or more paragraphs of your dream that’s free that we may be enriched furthermore.”
That, guys, is an excerpt I copy-pasted from Popoy’s letter to Joe, and so what can I do but be obliged, not to enrich anyone, for my dreams are simple and petty dreams and way down below those of the levels of Ninoy’s dream, or Gandhi’s, or Lincoln’s, or Rizal’s, or Popoy’s dream, etc., but only for the sake of courtesy to Popoy who I honestly think is a nice and patriotic man.
My dream is for Mar Roxas to just be himself and win the election and be the president of our dear country. My nightmares are if he ride tricycle again, or carry sack of rice on his back, or repair a broken chair with that rusty hammer again.
I dream that a President Mar Roxas has effectively solved the MRT and the traffic problems in Metro Manila. The only solution to the flood problem is to stop the rain from falling and that is not included in my dream.
I dream that a President Mar Roxas succeeded in relocating all squatters, as in all, in Metro Manila to some decent sites and give them livelihood.
I dream that a President Mar Roxas has effectively stopped government corruptions in all levels of government.
I have more petty dreams to write here, guys, but I don’t want to bore you to sleep so that’s all for now.
.
Priorities or wishes for the next President – to keep the whole thing neutral, we all know we can forget Binay but if Grace Poe does become President the wish list is also for her – would be a nice blog article to gather ideas by everybody.
Because in fact Mar Roxas is now only meeting the minimum qualification for a President by normal standards – Grace Poe falls a bit below but could be tolerable if she wins while Binay is totally out of the question.
Normally the question would not be WHO but WHAT he or she is expected to do and WHICH candidate will hopefully do most of it – among those who meet the MINIMUM requirements to be an honest and competent leader!
At least there are more people looking into WHAT they want from their leader now like Bert, not only WHO they want based on image. At least Grace Poe did say what she intends to focus on – even if it was very vague, what I would like to hear from her is what she wants to do as first priorities when she starts in the first 1-2 years. In fact this is the chance for Roxas – he can tell the public what he really wants to do first, make it clear that he is not just talking BS which is what Grace Poe seems to be doing, and tell the public to remember what he said because he will report to them about progress in his first and second SONAs – like an employee reporting to his employer(s) on yearly goal fulfillment.
Tama ka, Noy. Dae ko pigsasabi ine maski ki sisay, pero maorag ka talaga at bilib ako saimo.
But as to keeping the whole thing neutral, I’m with our dear Joe now. If Joe says he’s non-aligned I take that to mean he’s neutral. And so when Popoy made this pitch for Mar by having a dream of what Mar can do if elected president, my dreams, too, are for Mar even if, as you said, could be applicable also to Grace. I totally agree with you that Binay is out of the question.
I am done with the political provocations, for the most part, am disappointed with Poe and disgusted by Binay. I’m amused . . . I described the three candidates on Twitter as “the crook, the American and the investment banker.” Waldon Bello called them “the crook, the opportunist and the klutz”. I think it is up to Mar Roxas to SHOW us who he is. Right now, I could judge it going either way.
So one fact that may not have been disclosed in the Luna movie andthe photod of Rizal with the brothers is how short the three were. Rizal was thought to be between 4’11 and 5’2 from estimates based on a set of improvised barbells he was thought to have used in Dapitan. Napoleon Boneparte was 5’6 and I believe the median height for Filipins is 5’5.
People were shorter in those days, is the median height you are quoting today or back then? Average height has risen in all countries in 100 years due to better nutrition.
An even extremer example: Romans were on the average 160 cm. in olden days, that is 5 foot 2, the Germanic “giants” who invaded Rome were on the average 170 cm., that is 5’7. Napoleon was not really short I read, he just often surrounded himself with taller men.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height#History_of_human_height
According to a study by Economist John Komlos and Francesco Cinnirella, in the first half of the 18th century, the average height of an English male was 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), and the average height of an Irish male was 168 cm (5 ft 6 in). The estimated mean height of English, German, and Scottish soldiers was 163.6 cm – 165.9 cm (5 ft 4.4 in – 5 ft 5.3 in) for the period as a whole, while that of Irish was 167.9 cm (5 ft 6.1 in). The average height of male slaves and convicts in North America was 171 cm (5 ft 7 in).[44]
Ughhh a. nother Wikipedia citation. With those, the Reagan caution applies: “Trust but verify”. It is already curious that these young men were born of illustrado high income families at least several generations up would be of shorter stock due to inferior diet, disadvantaged lifestyle of the general population.
A better source to consult is this University of Tuebingen database which is a more thorough and scientific study of human heights worldwide, including estimates based on measurements of skeletal remains.
There is a chart on Southeast Asia from the 1800s which I wish I knew how to cut and paste here.
But the main conclusions are that since 1810, the average height in the region was steady at 160 cm or 5’2 in and then during the American regime broke out and accelerated into its current average height of 165 cm or around 5’4 inches.
http://ourworldindata.org/data/food-agriculture/human-height/
What this all means is that Rizal and the Luna siblings were shorter than the average male Filipino then when they in fact should have been taller as these studies conclude that height is highly correlated to income, education and social status which they and their families were blessed with. It is true nonetheless that Filipinos on average have grown taller by about 2 inches since then so comparing the three against contemporary males today would exaggerate their shortness.
Thank you Karl G. ROW, Lina Law, Land use and urban planning, zoning are not really the stumbling blocks. Congress can be strong armed to move their butts. The problems are those enjoying luxuries now, who will lose such luxuries, who are salivating for the by-product luxuries from the project. Their shameless greed should be placed under control. POLITICAL WILL #1.
If only there are no bridges that remain unfinished because a house that is on its path won’t budge.(insert youtube video or photo)
The naia skyway can’t be finished on schedule because Mearlco has properties on the way.
Congress can be strong armed alright by the oligarchs.
Oligarch’s will 101-
If there’s a will,there are relatives.
A discussion among Sal,Joe,Irineo and myself on how difficult it is to dream. Our topic was trains and buses.