Duterte Tells Nograles "Lapida" Is For Your Burial Ground

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte castigated Speaker Prospero Nograles during the "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" television show this morning about the proliferation of construction projects with Nograles' name on them.

"Ang lapida Nograles para sa imong lungon dili para sa proyekto (the burial stone is for your burial ground not for projects)," Duterte said. He said the money spent for the projects is not the money of Nograles but people's money.

Duterte also criticized Nograles for including the name of his son Atty Karlo Nograles in all of the projects posters and billboards. Atty. Karlo Nograles said their names are plastered all over their projects for purposes of transparency.

"If this is the case then I will order my people to put my name on a billboard to be placed at the People's Park---but also to include the name of my driver and several of my friends," Duterte said.

2:30 To Go Before Earth Hour

Two hours and a half more to go before Davao City, the whole Philippines and the whole world observes Earth Hour. This is one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM when we all put switch off our lights and other non-essential appliances to contribute to the world-wide campaign against global warming.

At least one million Filipinos joined Earth Hour last year and this year, the number is expected to go higher. This means more energy saved and more voices for Mother Earth. Davao City has prepared activities for Earth Hour and there will be three countdown events scheduled at SM City Davao, Matina Plaza Town Square and People's Park.

People's Park activities will be lead by Popong Landero and will feature dance numbers that depict the ritual healings of the earth.

You can observe Earth Hour. Just switch off your power and switch on to the worldwide campaign against global warming!

Kids Havaianas Recall: How About Adult Havs?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of about 210,000 children's flip flops manufacturers by Alpargatas USA Inc., of New York, N.Y. under the brand name Havaianas for allegedly containing high levels of lead that are in beyond the federal standards.

No injuries related to the high-lead content have been noted so far but this does not discount the fact that these flip flops are dangerous. How about Havaianas for adults?

This incident should urge the authorities to look into the safety of Havaianas flip flops not only for kids but also those sold for adults considering how widely-marketed these flip flops are. I for one have a bad experience with Havaianas which I bought from Chimes, an authorized distributor and seller of Havaianas so at least that proves that the pair is an authentic one.

The incident happened two years ago and since I had no malice whatsoever against the brand I failed to document the incident. It was only now that I realized the health consequences that experience may have on the safety of these famous flip flops. That was an unforgettable experience considering that it was the year when my high school batchmates were celebrating a milestone.

The Havs were new then--the black one with a two-inch heels (or a1 1/2 maybe)---so it was a novelty wearing it. To my surprise, the skin on my feet got itchy all over and in a day or two my feet (two of them) looked like a showcase for leprosy. There was raw, reddish and very itchy skin. The skin was peeling and the whole feet was so itchy. Not to mention the humiliation of having both feet looking like a disaster. I could not even hide them because wearing close shoes made the raw skin rawer, itchier and painful.

I never thought at that time that this could be a result of some chemical that the Havs contained but now that I have heard the news I am starting to put two and two together. It is not only the chemical content of the Havs that should concern everyone but also its safety. I don't know if this concern though is universal as I might be the only one experiencing it with this particular model of Havs. I have had my ankle sprained a lot of times because this Havaiana gets slippery---but other no-brand slippers get slippery too without producing that effect---after wearing it for a while. It may have something to do with the rubber of the slippers.

Efforts to research on the chemical content of the Havs proved futole (for now because I'm going to dig deeper on this) but there is a site that says the Havaianas contain a "top secret rubber recipe". But could this recipe be the culprit to these health-related scare about the flip flops? Maybe the secret should no longer be kept a secret not that it has launched a health-scare.

I have been told again and again to stop wearing the Havaianas --I have also told myself to stop wearing it as it is hazardous even when you are walking on a paved road. Up to now, there are still times when my feet itches but none of the first effect which was really horrible.

I am not a chemist and I don't know what this means but perhaps the authorities should closely look into the components of Havaianas and check them out.

China Town Davao Style

This is the new look of Uyanguren as the official China Town of Davao City. However, aside from the pseudo-gates on both sides of the streets, Uyanguren i still filled with mostly old buildings most of which are already fire-hazards.

Perhaps, the local government should not only focus on declaring the area as official China Town but it should also focus on the structures and its safety. After all, majority of the establishments here are earning income so why not look at the possibility of renovating or rebuilding these buildings following a unified architectural design that depicts Chinese all throughout? That would make China Town in Davao a real tourist attraction when this happens.