Let Pangandaman's Pay For What They Did To Dela Paz Family

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's silence in the wake of what the Pangandaman's did to the Dela Paz family shows how lacking in political will this government is especially when it concerns abusive government officials like the Pangandaman's.

The Pangandaman's, led by Mayor Pangandaman allegedly mauled the Dela Paz family including the father and his 14-year old son after they got into an altercation with Pangandaman's group while playing golf. The Pangandaman's were allegedly not following golf rules and were even the first ones to start the fight. With their burly bodyguards and guns, the Pangandaman's literally lorded it over the dela Paz and even the golf Marshall who failed to do his part in settling the problem.

In an interview with ABS CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda this morning, 14-year old Bino dela Paz (who has a 5 handicap) said Mayor Pangandaman himself boxed him after he pleaded for them to stop beating his 56-year old father. He said he even told them sorry (even if they did not do anything wrong) just so they would stop hurting his father but to no avail

Pangandaman even had the temerity to go out on television asking for the people's forgiveness for what happened without admittign their guilt. The fact that the Pangandaman's were armed with guns and with bodyguards against the dela Paz family with two children and an aging father shows how distended the equation is. Add to that the political clout of the Pangandaman's and the dela Paz will surely lose.

The dela Paz looked like a middle class family who invested heavily in training their children in golf. Every parent dreams of seeing his son or daughter excel in his chosen sports but in this case, the Pangandaman's should be made to pay not only for the physical damage they have caused but more importantly for the future they have destroyed. Dela Paz said his son Bino was so traumatized with the incident that he no longer wants to even see a golf course much more play golf.

DatelineDavao Is PR2

It will definitely be a good 2009 for DatelineDavao after receiving a gift from Google during the first day of the year. Datelinedavao is now PR 2 from PR N/A. It's funny really considering that I haven't been posting regularly for December as I prioritized paid writing works. I did work double time on my postings for November and changed my theme recently.

I don't understand Google's PR rating myself but I know that generally a site's PR rank signifies the significance level of your site. The higher your PR, the maximum being 10, the higher the rank of your pages in the Search Engine Results Pages or SERP although online marketers believe that there are other factors that determine this.

Some say your PR rating is also determined by the number of significant links between your site and other relevant pages. Google said the PageRank is a reflection of the web pages' importance with the more important web pages getting a higher page rank greater chance to top the search results.

Whatever the standards used by Google in ranking web pages, Datelinedavao is just so happy about finally getting a PageRank--at last!

25 Hurt In Gensan Blast

At least 25 people were injured when a grenade blasted the Oval Plaza of General Santos City at 9PM New year's Eve, December 31, 2008. What's new?

What makes this blast a lesson learned is that it was too near the city playground where kids abound. We were there with kids when we went home last September. We would have been there in the afternoon of December 24 had it not been closed down temporarily I hope for security reasons. We would have been in the Oval Plaza to look at the Christmas lights which supposedly gave Gensan a Disneyland feeling (some family members decided not to go though since they were not so impressed with the display they saw in the afternoon and after they got worried about safety issues).

One of the issues that we would often discuss in the family when going home to Gensan is Mall-avoidance and public-place-avoidance because this city has been infamous for the lack of security not only in the malls but also in other public places and in the whole city generally. It is difficulty to make a commentary on this considering that anything negative will surely affect how visitors will perceive the city in the future. However, turning a blind eye will not change things and will perhaps only worsen it.

When blasts like these become almost a regular thing then one would suspect that there must be something wrong with how the city officials of Gensan are treating the city's security or lack of it. Of course, other places get bomb threats and have their own bombing and grenade incidents too but not as regularly as Gensan.

I have always been vocal about the lack of political will on the part of Gensan's politicians and under command responsibility principles, it is always the head of the city who will be held accountable for anything that happens. City mayor Acharon has been mayor of Gensan for several years and people should consider the continuous threat to their lives as a sign that come 2010, they should already elect new leaders.

Security in General Santos is pretty lax. Security guards in Davao City malls would bother you just so they can check all your belongings and would even frisk you until you want to shout at them. Here in Gensan, the security guards at the KCC Mall looked even annoyed when I opened my bag to let them peek inside. Were they too heavily relying on those canines stationed on the front doors? So much for security.

The officials in charge of the overland terminal are also very lax with security procedures. Anyone can just go in and out of the terminal without being frisked or even their baggage checked. The city officials have been elected by the people to make sure that everything is spic and span not only economic and social -wise but also security-wise. This is too much of a responsibility that is why it is called public service. Anybody who could not respond to the demands of his job should step down.

Christmas In General Santos

General Santos City may be the new site of Robinsons Mall and the soon to be constructed SM City but a tour around the downtown area will show you that the city is still in dire need of improvement infrastructure and investments wise.

There was a time during the administration of former Mayor Rosalita Nunez when General Santos was really booming--meaning commercial buildings everywhere, big malls, infrastructure projects and a vibrant market. I know Robinsons and SM are big investments (I am not even sure if SM will push through) but a friend who also hails from General Santos City and who studied College and started a family here said "ay ewan" when I told her the good news about Robinsons. Seeing Gensan now, I seem to have understood her reaction.

I was tryign to pin down the tail on the donkey as to what was missing in Gensan despite the big investments coming in. Finally, I realized that the small and medium entrepreneurs were missing in the picture. Streets like Pioneer Avenue and Magsaysay Avenue were like ghost town in the afternoon of December 24. It should have been different considering that people are still hot on their Christmas shopping.

Go to the malls like KCC and Gaisano though and you will see lots of people there. But KCC and Gaisano are not just the only entrepreneurs in Gensan. I would favor the growth of the small and medium enterprises first rather than see them die in the hands of big investors like KCC, Robinsons and SM.

Christmas At NCCC Mall

The NCCC Mall in Matina has gone all out this Christmas, constructing two giant Christmas billboards along the entrance side. The billboards contain the mosaic-like images of kids which appropriately sends out NCCC Mall's message--that Christmas is truly for the kids and the kids at heart. It is only with a kid's heart that one is able to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas sans the expensive blinking Christmas lights, the sumptuous noche buena and even the expensive shopping list. On the sides of the billboards are giant parols customized for the design,

However, the Maa side of NCCC Mall is equally if not more attractive. Take a look at these photos.

Minimum Fare Back To P7; Taxi Fares Sans P10 Additional Rate

The Christmas wish of millions of commuters all over the country has finally been granted with the rollback in public utility fares starting today December 15.

Starting Monday jeepney fares will be back to the original P7 rate for the first four kilometers and an additional P1.40 for every succeeding kilometer. The dreaded and much-criticized P10 additional fare for taxi has also been scrapped and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board XI will start removing them today.

LTFRB administrative office Edgar Violan however said this is only a provisional fare rate which is effective from December 15, 2008 to March 15, 2009. The rollback came as a result of the series of rollbacks in oil prices in the world and even the lcoal markets.

The LTFRB will spearhead a hearing on February 18, 2009 to discuss final fare rates for jeepneys and other public utility vehicles.

Free/Libre Open Source Software Orientation For Small and Medium Enterprises.

Software piracy is prevalent but the government and other groups are speeding up their campaign against software piracy. This has placed small and medium enterprises at a disadvantage due to the expensive software they need for the efficient operation of their business.

There is however an option and if you are interested in availing of free and open source software then join the Orientation on Free/Libre Open Source Software (F/LOSS) for Small and Medium Enterprises which will be held at the DabaweGNU Lab (2nd Floor BexPhil Building), Sobrecarey corner Vinzon St., Obrero in Davao City tomorrow Decemebr 13 from 12:30 to 4PM.

The orientation is sponsored by the International Open Source Network (IOSN) ASEAN+3, a Center of Excellence for Free Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Asia-Pacific Region, Team Mango Cloud- Mindanao in Association and DabaweGNU.

"Join us and learn how to minimize your investment cost in software which will improve your operating efficiency,"Arturo Esmeralda Jr. Team leader of F/LOSS 4 SMEs Team Mango Cloud told Datelinedavao. Esmeralda said all businesses including the small and medium ones need that technological edge to be more competitive in the market.

You have to register here to signify your intent to join the orientation because there are limited slots available. Aside from a short discussion on F/LOSS, there will also be focus group discussions regarding the more popular Open Source software like WebERP, OpenOffice, Ubuntu and Gimp.

Local companies like Amon Marketing, which is engaged in the distribution of Kwikset Lock sets and Nevada paints, will be there to present their experience. You can also call Esmeralda at 0918.589.4822/3007053, Nelia Victolero at 0920.448.4243 or Evamay Dela Rosa at 0920.938.2285.