E-Trikes for a Sustainable Future

If Makati has their E-Jeepneys, Mandaluyong on the other hand has their E-Tricycles. Oha! Oha! When I was working in Makati, I was able to ride on these E-Jeepneys everytime we're taking our lunch in Landmark or Glorietta. These E-Jeepneys aren't charging fees/fares to its passengers, rather, they have this small donation box behind the driver's seat for those who may want to give. (Mahiya ka naman magbigay ka! Haha)

Then here came E-Trikes. One morning I got a chance to ride on one of these public vehicles going to Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong. The engine is so quiet that you won't even distinguish the difference when it is running and when it is not. Very comfortable seat and runs so smooth that it's like riding on a limo. (Wow parang nakasakay na ko sa limo, hehe) And the best of all, they just charge the same fares of ordinary tricycle. Galing 'di ba!

While E-Jeepneys can accommodate up to 12 persons, E-trikes have seats for 8. Much better compared to the ordinary trikes that can only accommodate 4-5 persons. These electrically-powered vehicles are not only environmentally-friendly but also can save a lot of money to our country from foreign fuel imports.

I'm impressed with this project. It's giving me a sense of assurance that somehow, city governments are concern in minimizing air pollution in the city. Though there are still lot of things to do before realizing the full benefit of this project, its a good start towards cleaner air and a more livable environment for Manila. Great right?

Philippine Banknotes: The New Generation

 
Nung malaman kong pinalitan ng Tarsier si Gloria sa likod ng 200 peso bill, natawa talaga ko kasi comedy. Hehe. Isipin mo ba namang palitan ang picture mo ng picture ng Tarsier. Akala ko pati nung una yun lang ang pinalitan, yun pala lahat ng perang papel binago ang design. Although may mga nagki-criticize sa bagong design ng pera, para sakin maganda naman sya. New and improved. Pwedeng pang-marketing dahil ang mga renowned wonders ng bansa ang naka-design sa likod. May pitong enhanced counterfeit features, mapa ng pinas, at pinabatang mga pictures ng mga leaders natin sa harap. Bagets na bagets. Hehe. Nakakainis lang dahil naalala ko yung naipon kong mga perang papel na 'JD' ang code. Nanakaw lahat! Ngayon tuloy mahihirapan na kong makakuha ulit nung mga yon dahil iibahin na nila. Hmp. Anyway, excited na ko makita ang bagong design ng pera ng personal. It's a history. Ang alam ko nagbigay na ang BSP sa mga bangko, at meron pa tayong 3 years bago ma-phase out ang lahat ng mga lumang pera.

Tara! Takbo!

"I wanna break the world record every year until we clean the river."

-ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. Managing Director Gina Lopez

ABS-CBN is proving that they are serious in rehabilitating our river. Last Sunday, 10.10.10, the media network made history when they have organized Run for the Pasig River which Filipinos of different walks of life come together for one goal - to help save our dying river.

The event hopes to break the record of San Francisco Bay for the most participants in a footrace in Guinness. And I believe we have done it. 116 thousand out of 160 thousand participants coming from 4 different starting points finished the race. Monumental. We will have the record.

Photo Credit: Philip Sison

Oo, na-late na naman ako, but I really tried to be on-time. I'm sorry.

We leave Boni MRT station at around 4:45AM and arrived at Taft station 5:10AM. Since the road heading to Mall of Asia is closed for the event, there is no choice of getting to the starting point but to walk. Ok. No problem. Walk from Taft Avenue to MOA. So easy. (yabang!, hehe) It serves as our warm-up for the run. Hehe. The race is about to start when we arrived at the starting point. We were just on-time baby!

It's fun to be part of that event. Heartwarming to see that enormous crowd willing to help. Running side-by-side with these people and with my friends is such a wonderful experience. Thanks to Epher for helping us to be part of it. And not to mention the legendary singlet outfit, and when I say outfit, fit na fit talaga. Haha.

I know we can revive this river of ours, and it's never too late to achieve this. And maybe 2 to 3 or 4 years from now, we can bring back Pasig river to its old glory.

“Let us clean up the mess that was made before us. Pasig River is a symbol of hope and what the future holds for the country. If we manage to clean it, then we have done our jobs as citizens.”

-Ballsy Aquino-Cruz

SM Supermarkets Go Green

As a response to the alarming solid waste problem, I'm very happy to see how SM are enthusiastically making efforts in reducing solid waste not only to our capital city but also to the whole country by introducing eco-friendly and re-usable shopping bags.

Nung sa Ortigas pa ko nagtatrabaho back in 2007, I remember SM introduces their "Green Bags" which reduces the use of plastic bags. Maganda kasi re-usable nga sya so malilimitahan yung paggamit nga ng plastic bag na usually eh itinatapon din naman at naiipon ng naiipon sa mga tambakan. Then eventually SM have also promoted "My Own Bag" every Wednesday kung san they're are encouraging their customers to bring their own bag or to use their SM Green Bags (if they have) for their grocery.

Then last Wednesday nung napunta ko ng Megamall, I was surprised nung nakita kong paper bags na ang gamit ng SM Supermarket! Cute! Hehe. Naisip ko, "Wow parang sa States!". Well, the customer can always ask for plastic bags for their grocery pero much better naman siguro kung paper bags nalang ang gamitin. I know paper bags are uncomfortable na dalin lalo na kapag marami ka talagang binili dahil wala syang handle pero tingnan nalang natin yung malaking matutulong nun na mabawasan ang mga basura 'di ba. Ayun. I'm really impressed. Minsan nga I-eexperience kong mamili ulit sa SM. Lagi Robinsons nalang kasi ako lagi nabili kasi iyon yung malapit sa bahay namin. Haha. Anyway, I hope yung ibang supermarket din like Ayala's, Rustan's at Robinsons eh ma-inspire sa SM at gayahin din nila. Sa mga ganitong bagay ok lang ang mang-gaya. Di ba! Di ba! Hehe.

MonteMaria

Nung huling nagbakasyon kami sa probinsya nila Bebe sa Batangas nung Holy Week, hindi manlang kami nakapag-bisita iglesia o naka-simba manlang. Tsk tsk. Ewan ko nga ba. Mas inatupag pa namin nun ang pagda-dagat. Byernes santong-byrenes santo andun kami naglalangoy sa dagat. Kaya naman pinlano talaga naming pumunta sa Monte Maria nitong huling pagpunta namin sa Lobo. And God is so gracious na kahit hindi kami natuloy nung Holy Friday, eh pinapunta naman nya kami ng Black Saturday. Siguro sabi nya, Holy Friday ngayon manahimik kayo sa bahay, bukas nalang lumakad! Ehe.

Mga February lang nung unang marinig ko 'tong MonteMaria na project ni Fr. Suarez (healing priest). Sobrang na-excite ako kasi ang ganda ng mga narinig ko about sa project. Isa na dun yung pagkalaki-laking istatwa daw ni Mama Mary na mas malaki pa kay Lady Liberty ng New York at Christ the Redeemer ng Rio yung itatayo dun. Tapos may ilang simbahan, retreat houses, station of the cross atbp. Kaso bago pa man kami lumuwas ng batangas may nabasa kong blog na hindi na daw pala tuloy ang project na 'to sa lugar. At ang nakakainis pa, dahil daw sa sobrang naging mahal na ng presyo ng lupa sa lugar na pagmamay-ari ng isang pulitiko. Nak ng! Sabi daw, kelangan pa kasi ni Fr. Suarez ng dagdag na lupa dahil kulang daw ang 5 hectares sa itatayo nyang project para ma-accommodate ang expected na dami ng tao na dadagsa sa lugar. Ang kaso, nagulat nalang sila ng malamang tumaas na ng P6k - P9k ang presyo ng lupa per sqm na dating P50 lang per sqm! HayyYY! Nakakainis talaga 'tong mga taong 'to. Taking advantage! Ok lang sana kung casino ang itatayo dun o kung anong commercial spaces eh hindi naman! It's a place for spiritual renewal. It's for God's glory! Hindi ba nila naiintindihan yon!!! Nako pigilan nyo ko! Grrr!

Nung naghahanap na kami ng uupahan na jeep para makapunta sa MonteMaria Shrine, parang lahat nalang sinasabi na wala na dun yung simbahan. But we wanted to see it for ourselves kaya nag-pursue pa rin talaga kami na pumunta. On the way, wala na rin naman akong ine-expect na may makikita kong simbahan or what. And sakin nalang, basta we tried to see the site whether there actually a sanctuary or not. We took this journey to MonteMaria as part of our commitment na magkaron manlang kami ng spiritual activity nitong Holy Week in observance of Lent.

Ng makarating kami sa site, yung malaking cross nalang ang naabutan namin sa lugar na pinagmimisahan daw ni Fr. Suarez dati. Then may nakita kaming puting simbahan sa di naman kalayuan kaya dun nalang kami tumuloy. Habang papunta dun may nakita kaming mga rebulto na parang ginawa as part of the planned Station of the Cross sana ng MonteMaria. Nakakalungkot lang makita kasi parang na-abandoned nalang sila. Hayyy.

Anyway, the Church of the Infant Jesus is just a proof of how beautiful this project should have been. Pero dahil sa mga gahaman... hay Lord forgive me. Wala nalang kaming reaksyon ni Bebe nun kundi pumalatak at manghinayang. So sad it may be, meron pa rin namang good news. Sabi hindi na naman daw tatanggalin dun yung simbahan ni Sto. Nino. Pati tuloy pa rin naman yung MonteMaria project, pero sa Tagaytay City nalang. Well that's better than none. Sana nga matuloy na 'to sa Tagaytay. Let's just pray na hindi na naman ma-pulitiko 'tong project ni Fr. Suarez.

Rio de Janeiro to host the 31st Olympiad

The city of Rio de Janeiro has been elected as the Host City of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 following a vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session. IOC President Jacques Rogge made the announcement at the close of the first day of meetings of the IOC’s 121st Session in Copenhagen, Denmark. Rio de Janeiro received 66 votes compared to Madrid’s 32 in the final round of voting.

For more info, visit: http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Olympic-Games/Candidate-Cities/Elections-for-the-2016-Games/

**ekskayted na for London 2012! :)


At anu daw? Manila 2024????????? http://www.manila2024.blogspot.com/
Sige, no comment. Hehe.