P1M for Batman's Killers?

Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? Thus goes the applicable adage to the P1M bounty that two bickering Davao politicians have offered for anyone who can point to broadcaster Ferdie Lintuan's killer/s. Offering an amount of money for the killing of a person does not absolve anyone from his sins, imaginary, accusatory or real. At the rate the justice system is going, the bounty money can only go two ways:

1.remain in the hands of the giver if the killer is not identified
2.awarded to the whistle blower who identified fall guys anyway

I am sure Batman would be happier if the amount is given to his sons. That P1 million cold cash (placed in a savings or trustee account) would go a long way to sustaining them now that their father is gone.

Get Paid To Blog With Smorty

I’ve been blogging professionally for quit sometime already but I did not know I can get paid to blog with Smorty. I have tried Smorty a month ago but got frustrated with the system since I could not quite get the links properly. It came to a point when I was already willing to give up since I already wrote a blog post which expired because it did not follow the links. Fortunately, I finally got it all right and what do you know---after a few weeks, I got a PayPal message saying I received my very first Smorty payment!

If I had known that I can get paid for blogging not only through blog advertising (which did not work for me!) but also through Smorty's blog for money program then I would have tried it months ago. I got burned with blog advertising ---I placed adsense in my blog but did not get anything from the sites advertised on my blog. Reminds me why I still have it here! How frustrating can that be?

Paid blogging with Smorty is really easy. You just need to register your blog and wait for their approval. After that, they will send you paid blogging assignments which you will have to write about and post in your site. You send Smorty the link and then once it is approved, just wait for the payment period. Your site has to do good with the ratings game though before it is finally approved by Smorty. Also make sure that your site has been existing for quite sometime before you apply for approval.

Smorty works both ways. It is ideal for advertisers who want to advertise on bogs and also for bloggers who want to get paid to blog. Blogging brings out some kind of fulfillment and it is doubly fulfilling because it also offers an opportunity to blog for money. One good thing about this blogging gig is that you can choose which asignments to accept. You only have three days to submit your post or it will expire. If you want to earn extra on the side then try to get paid to blog with Smorty!

The Adventures Of Batang Mandaya Comes To An End

How safe is the Davao media, or the Philippine media for that matter, from vengeful people who believe that the GUN is mightier than the pen?

The ambush of a good friend of mine, Ferdie "Batman" Lintuan last Monday right after his radio program at DXGO was an eye opener in the same manner that the killing of Gene Boyd Lumawag a few years ago was also an eye opener. But how many eye openers should the 4th estate get before we finally say TAMA NA!!!?

I got to know Batman when I was still a neophyte writer, aspiring to be called a journalist. He was already some kind of a legend then, having been able to escape his would-be killers who strafed the radio station where he worked before. He still had the bullets to show for that second lease on life and he was boasting about it when we were preparing to march to protest the death of Gene Boyd.

If you do not know Batman then you would not like him at first because he was so makulit and he would test your patience and wit. He used to tease me because I was sexy (that's when I was starting out he!he) and a few years later because I was siksik. I worked with him before when I was still with ABC 2 where he was union president (he also led the filing of charges against the management) and then again when I was senior reporter for Sunstar Davao. We have remained good friends and we would usually see each other at SM's coffee shop.

I remembered when I saw him right after his wife's death. I asked him how life was now that his beloved was gone and he said "Sus intawon INATAY gyud ko (that means ina and tatay) to his 4 kids, the eldest is 22 and the youngest is 11 years old.) We saw each other often after that and would talk a little about life and career.

Imagine how shocked I was when I learned he was ambushed morning of December 24. They finally got to him. The Adventures of Batman has come to an end.

We in the media are not paid much and we do not even have insurance. And except for a few who manage to become rich in their own way, most of us still live payday to payday. While not all of us in the media are honest and faithful about our craft, there are media people who are still the real thing and who have not been corrupted by the system. Maybe this is why I am proud not only of my chosen profession but my chosen vocation in life.

And as his family and friends grieve over his death, I hope the gunman will realize that he has killed not only a man but also a father of four. And I hope he mulls over that before he sleeps every night---if he still can.

Dateline Davao Goes To Dustland And Tuna Country

Merry Christmas everyone! Not doing regular blogging this time of the year since I am still in the land of Dust and the famous Tuna Capital of the Philippines. No thanks to Smart's Plan 799 which is apparently not financially practical and PLDT's WeRoam which is not just available ha!ha!ha!----I do not have 24-hour Internet with me and have content with Netopia's P23 per hour email charge at Gaisano Mall. If I can only bring my DSL connection....

It's good to note there are lots of establishments with wifi connection here in Gensan and one of my favorites is MacGregor Coffee Shop. Sometimes I also use East Asia Royal Hotel's connection but it's more expensive at P100 per hour at the business center and almost the same price at the cafe (plus you have to spend for food). I'm still trying to explore other wifi cafes and restos here though.

Smart’s Plan 799 Not So Smart After All

I got frustrated with PLDT”s We Roam (which provides wireless access to the Internet) after I was told that the local computer shops no longer sell the gadget and that if ever they have one, it won’t fit in my HP-Compaq laptop and it’s not compatible since I have a Vista operating system.

Imagine my glee when I chanced upon Smart’s 799 Plan which provides wireless coverage. This means I can just plus the gadget not my USB and then I’m on. Very convenient especially during the Holiday Season when I would be going out of town and would be living behind my DSL connection.

A quick visit to Smart’s SM City Davao office however proved frustrating since the Plan is not yet available (READ: Gadget not yet sent by Manila). Initial payment is P1,999. Furthermore, the P799 monthly fee is only good for 40 hours per month. Wow! That means around P20 per hour of surfing the Internet and you pay P10 for every 30 minute excess. How’s that for “harang?”

The rate would have been more acceptable if this was a monthly plan but lo! There is a 24-month lockin period so that would mean two monthly payments for my DSL and the wireless connection which is not ideal since I can hook up with wifi in any Davao or Gensan café’ anytime.

I considered Globe’s Visibility months ago. It has an initial fee of P2,000, guaranteed fast connection anywhere there’s a Globe signal and a monthly fee of only P2,000 with unlimited Internet use. However it also has a lockin condition.

Compared with Smart’s 799 Plan, Globe’s Visibility is a bargain! If you surf for 10 hours a day (which I usually do in my line of work) then that would mean P6 per hour of comfortable Internet service, anytime, anywhere, But there’s the lockin hitch again.

Well, I just need to call PLDT again if they have made their WeRoam compatible with newer laptop models already. In the meantime, it means surfing and drinking coffee while I'm on vacation. Suggestions, anyone?

MediSpa: A Wish Come True

Remember how I was wishing for a day at the Spa to refresh my cob-webbed mind from all the antics of Trillanes, the continued rise of the peso vs dollar (which is unfavorable to the outsourcing industry) amid the rise of fuel prices, erc. etc ---and then I won $12 from PMT but the cash was not enough for a refreshing Spa? Well, that wish finally came true today, thanks to MediSpa.

MediSpa, which is located at SM City Davao (side entrance just near the elevator), hosted a Spa Christmas Party for Davao's business writers. I got pampered with a foot massage while interviewing MediSpa owner Dr. Victoria Patiño-Guillano.Guillano is the only Dermatopathologist in Davao City (and perhaps one of the only two known practicing Dermatopathologist in Mindanao). This young and charismatic doctor, who seemed to be very passionate about what she does, is a Fellow at the American Academy of Dermatology and the Philippine Dermatologic Society.

MediSpa is not your ordinary Spa or derma clinic where you get your facials (although they offer that services as well) in the sense that the doctor is a Dermapathologist which means she is legally and medially armed to provide consultations on skin conditions and diseases like Leprosy and Psoriasis. She also conducts Biopsy of skin conditions that has been treated for weeks but has remained uncured. In fact, dermatologists and other skin clinics from as far as General Santos City and Butuan send patient samples to her for Biopsy since she is also head of the Dermatopathology Department of the Davao Medical Center.

Aside from various Spa Services, MediSpa also hosts Spa Themed Parties and they haev the facilities to provide several hours of spa-pleasure to the celebrant and the guests. The Spa room has an adjustable lighting fixture to suit the needs of the clients. Falling asleep while having a back massage would be nice (although I haven't tried that service yet!) but Dr. Guillano's assistant sure gave a very relaxing foot massage.

Dr. Guillano has a lot to say about other issues in her industry but that will be for the next blog.

Stretching Lastikman's Verbiage

(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Lastikman has captured the hearts of both children and adults not only in Davao but in the whole country, what with his generosity and kindheartedness, not to mention his cinematic transformations on screen from an elastic man to a helicopter, insect, car, cellphone, etc. It is a simple TV series but with plenty of representations from where children can learn from including the villains who represent the 7 deadly sins (GREED-Agaddon, LUST-Mothra, ENVY-Byutiki, SLOTH-Alingasaw, GLUTTONY-Morphino, WRATH-Dr. Jared and PRIDE-Ayessa.)

But lately, the writers of Lastikman seems to be cashing in on the use of Taglish and text Englsh which is not good for children who are just learning the rudiments of the English language. If Lastikman airs longer and with those Taglish words being emphasized like "Ok ba you? Ok na me" or "Here na me"---willmost likely stick to the minds of children viewers, most of whom are already aping such expressions in their daily language use.

As a web content writer, I realized that one of the Filipinos' edge over other outsourcing countries including India is proper English usage. In fact, the ability to speak English properly seems to be an advantage used even by the Overseas Filipino Workers no matter what country they are in. I hope that the production staff of Lastikman will realize this and do something about it or we risk producing children with text or carabao English.

If this is not addressed soon, I may have to punch out Channel 4 from my remote...