Count the Pieces, the Key to Success

A very short but interesting game of chess. It features the idea of chess mobility and development. When you have many pieces developed than your opponent, it may be wise to look for ways to end the game quickly.

Winning a game hinges on one idea: Counting the Pieces, that is, when your attacking pieces is greater than the defending pieces of your opponent, you have a greater chance of crushing your opponent's defenses, and win.

See this game at Chess.com, or scroll down below for an embedded board.

Positional Squeeze in the French Defence

When all your chess pieces are poised, while your opponents are not, look for the way to break through. Opposite castling almost always suggests pawn storms against each other's King. 

In this game, White is denied his own pawn storms, while black proceeds undeterred.

Alleged Suicide is now Suspect! Investigation is Needed!

The case of a friend's alleged suicide is now having some twists and turns!

An Update of THE SULU KRIS: Mounting Pressure Back Home Possibly Forces an OFW to Kill Herself

Her last FB post may contain some hints to the investigators:

Allegedly, Jove had broken these properties of her Boss in Abu Dhabi because of Jove's problems at home in the Philippines:

Ito naman ang post ni Jove nuong nasira niya ang gamit ng boss niya sa taas na letrato:

 Then, a few hours later, she was found frothing white liquid from the mouth. It was alleged that she took the 44 tablets for her ward, overdosing her.

She was then taken to a Hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (still verifying the name of the Hospital.

Then, Jove was allegedly declared dead on arrival.

There are more questions to be answered and missing facts to surface.

An Update of THE SULU KRIS: Mounting Pressure Back Home Possibly Forces an OFW to Kill Herself

Toying with the King! Are you Brave Enough?

This game illustrates the point that sometimes, pieces can be shed one after another when there is chances that the King will fight out alone in the open without any artillery support.

In chess, a naked king will surely meet his doom soon. You won't need to calculate great numbers of variations. Just go at it, but be sure of course that you have a preponderance of pieces near your enemy King. Otherwise, please go home packing and crying.

brendankiwi (1578) vs. briskwarlock (1690)
Let's Play! | Chess.com | 17 May 2014 | 0-1

You may want To Jump to the Game Board on Chess.com, or you may scroll down below for the embedded game board.

Did Jove Really Kill Herself?

Working abroad keeps you away from home, your family, and other love ones. But if it is the only means to keep your family alive, then, what choice do you have?

Life in the Philippines is bleak. Although the economy under the Aquino administration has become better, the poverty index remains unchanged since 2006.

It means, even the dole out program Pantawid has not successfully eradicate poverty in the Philippines, at least for the time being.

That is why the Filipinos almost always take any opportunity to work abroad even as laborers or unskilled workers. In fact, 1 out of 3 of the 2.220 million OFWs is an unskilled worker says NSO data.

About my friend Jove

My friend Jovelyn Jerez Fernandez, 26, was one of the two million Filipinos who chose to try their luck abroad few years ago.

But due to the mounting crisis back home in the Philippines, her salaries were barely enough to sustain her family. She has two kids.

She killed herself today through drug overdose, said a workmate.

A hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates declared her dead on arrival. She will be sent to the Philippines in a sad casket.

Relatives question the incident

But some of her close family members, like Angel Devie can not accept that she had really committed suicide.

"Di' kame mgkahagad ngpakamatay sya,y reason para mgpakamatay sya,tuhan da n maka ingat. Ha 44 Ubat bata bata ma dead on arrival sya pa ospital?" Angel Devie said commenting in BassaKao post.

Another cousin Saphira Imbok commented in The Sulu Kris:

"My cousin was so brave and us her family we don't believe that shit!! She can't kill her self with so many reason.. i've got a chance to chat with her friend in the house and same work, she said she killed her self with 44 tablets for kids and dead on arrival.. how they that the tablet mas total of 44?"

My personal take on this

She might have been a coward, in my opinion, for ending her life that way, but if she had done it, your love ones, when stressed out and pushed to the wall, could have done it, too.

Working abroad is not always comfortable, especially living in an Arab household, it might also be a nightmare!

One of a UN worker in Cotabato, a Muslim African, warned me about the Arab people. “They are bad people,” he said.

It is of course stereotyping, and it is only partly related to the case of Jovelyn, but the sad fact is that, being OFW is having to take a great risk for yourself. There is always that possibility that you'll get an "Arab Jahil" for a boss.

Irony

But Saudi Arabia continued to be the most preferred destination of OFWs with 20.6 percent of the 2.22 million OFWs who worked abroad at any time from April to September of 2012 reporting it as their place of work, says the NSO data.

Some Christians even purposely convert to Islam just to get job placement in Saudi Arabia.

It’s about life and survival. The minimum salary for new workers in Saudi Arabia is around 3,000 Riyals, or roughly P40,000. That is of course way bigger than most salaries in the Philippines, including the Government employees, who are earning an average of P20,000 monthly only.

Caine Dhie in FB has this interesting share, however: "The minimum salary is 400 US dollar which is equivalent to 16,000 pesos or higher depending on exchange rate of dollar to peso for every household worker in saudi."

"And as of now saudi arabia is the only country that is strictly following this salary requirements for every household worker, meaning workers from other middle east country like abu dhabi receives lower than 16 thousand pesos monthly," she added.

To get a decent job

The reason people work abroad, then, is to have a job. There is not much job opportunities in Sulu. But despite the forecast of massive poverty in Sulu, however, majority of the people in Sulu is not really poor.

How can you call the Tausug people poor when even the families who are living in “barong-barong” houses have TVs, electric fans, washing machines; and each family member has their own assorted model of cellphones?

But of course, people always want for more. It is normal for people to be forever unsatisfied. So the preference for work abroad is always strong.

The reality of business in Sulu

When the minimum wage law of P250 a day in Sulu is not even respected by most establishments, how can you stop Tausug Filipino workers from seeking out for their luck abroad?

Giving wages of P250 a day for every worker, however, will bankrupt the employers in Sulu, as a matter of fact! There are many factors, but foremost is the uncertain and unexpected arrival of extortionists.

The maximum monthly salary that establishments in Sulu can afford for their workers is P3,000 only, that’s equivalent of P100 per day. How could you possibly survive with this amount of salary if you were sustaining a family / families?

I am not aware however how does Government agencies write in their reports of business and industries in Sulu. But I suspect those reports are full of exaggerations of bloated numbers and figures.

When our situation won’t change in Sulu, there could be a new Jovelyn every day in Saudi Arabia.

But some reminders for the self

Take note: Suicide is Haram in Islam!

Life is precious. No matter how hard our problem is, let us not waste it. Albert Nemeth said: There is no burden that is not lighten by the sharing of it. 

But then, good bye, Jovie. See you, again. 

It is so wrong and haram to commit suicide, but then it has been done. You must be so brave to do that. And yet, you are a big coward! Why choose death when there is a thousand more reasons to live. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun. 

May other people take lessons from your experience. May the living learn to avoid that horrific blunder you have done. May other people learn to accept fate with sabar. 

Allah is always merciful, and won't give us problem that we can't bear. Let us never commit suicide. 

A good 26 years of life has been wasted by one awful decision. Life is indeed cruel. People are indeed cruel. Bad family is the most cruel thing in life. Please be kind to your love ones.

A twist and turn of the alleged suicide incident

Jove last post, which now has more or less 50 comments from friends and relatives, however, is very suspicious:

This last FB post may contain some hint to the investigators:

Allegedly, Jove had broken these properties of her Boss in Abu Dhabi because of Jove's problems at home in the Philippines:

Ito ang update niya after niya nasira ang mga gamit ng boss niya sa taas:

Then, a few hours later, she was found frothing white liquid from the mouth. It was alleged that she took the 44 tablets which her ward owned, and overdosing Jove.

She was then taken to a Hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (still verifying the name of the Hospital.)

Then, Jove was allegedly declared dead on arrival.

There are more questions to be answered and missing facts yet to surface.

The video below was taken by Saphira Imbok, Jove's cousin. Here, the mother Jove and her daughters sang along through internet chat.

Human Rights Abuses will be Addressed in Sulu Faster Now.

The prayers of various Civil Society Organizations from within and without Sulu have finally been answered. Today, May 27, 2014, the First Human Rights Monitoring Center has made its launching in Sulu.

The Center is at the Polar Building, 3rd floor, Buyon Street, Jolo, Sulu.

One of the important elements of robust community is the presence of the protectors or defenders of the human rights. I think, this part must be given the greatest attention by the National government, especially for Sulu.

But then again, "baka ma-Cocoy ka!" is the catch phrase. Cocoy Tulawie, a great defender of Human Rights in Sulu, is now in jail (possibly because of precisely being a defender of Human Rights). Mr Tulawie is waiting for the court's Judgment regarding his case.

And then again, the spirit of Cocoy Tulawie has actually live on among the hearts of the Tausug. Mr Nelson Mukarram, RN is now leading the advocacy of Bawgbug in Sulu. Sir Nelson is also a member of BassaKao Inc.

Majority has accepted that, and we are known worldwide for it, Sulu is where the unsolved kidnapping cases abound. Sulu is painted so very badly by the world media because of that, but of course, that is not the whole story.

The 700,000 Tausug should not be going down the drain just becuase the few hundreds are involved in the shady business of kidnapping.

Mexico City actually fares worse than our province in terms of unprecedented cases of lawlessness and frequent disruption of the rule of law. And yet . . . .

And so, If Sulu were truly that bad and unpredictable, then, there must be a greater need for Human Rights advocates to balance the equilibrium. The HR workers protect all that are affected with human rights abuses.

After long years of waiting, finally, they are here. The CHR has launched at the center of the town of Jolo today. Their Monitoring center is officially opened today, with its office at the Polar Building, 3rd floor, Buyon Street, Jolo, Sulu.

The important event is witnessed by all stakeholders of peace in Sulu.

But the Deputy Officer of the Sulu Provincial Police, PSUPT Oscar Nantez believes otherwise, especially on the part of PNP.

The PNP is already amenable to the HR laws and trying their best to implement the same, he said.

He said that the PNP as an organization is already well-trained to help redress HR violations done against any person.

He added, however, that the CHR in Sulu is also good because the victims now have an alternative means of redress, in case they would be thinking twice to coordinate or not with the PNP in Sulu.

The Commissioner Jose Manuel Mamauag of the CHR Philippines expressed joy that the HR services would now be accessible even to the grassroots as far as Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

He specially believes that Sulu more than any province needs the participation of the HR workers and the communities to effect peace and prosperity in Sulu.

He said that the HR Monitoring Center in Sulu would not only accept human rights cases, but also take charge on the increase campaigns of HR awareness educating the people of their Human Rights.

People must also learn to participate in the development process of the community, he said, because consultation and participation are two important elements of progress and development.

The Head of BaSulta subregional office of the RHRC, Atty Edy Lynn Santiago said that this is a dream come true for the CSOs who took pains in requesting for HR services to come down to the grassroots. This is an answered prayer, she said.

She also recognized, she said, that ZC is a far place and not easily accessible, so when the victims should need immediate action, the CHR must be closer to the place of action.

She believes that the establishment of the HR Center in Sulu is very timely.

For his part, Dr Raden Ikbala, the head of the United Sultanate Movement, said that he is happy and thankful about the Monitoring Center.

Dr Ikbala also contended that Sulu had been neglected for a long time by the government. But now, the coming of the CHR to Sulu is a welcome development.

He wished to be of help to the Martial Law human rights violations.

The Mayor of Jolo, Hon Hussin Amin is very supportive of the launching of the CHR in Sulu.

He insisted, however, that there is no human rights violation in the Jolo proper, but he could not talk for the other municipalities. But in any case, this Monitoring Center could now serve as the "Watchdog" for human right abuses in the entire Sulu, he added.

Despised for the wrong reasons

One Man's Meat

Published: Monday May 26, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Monday May 26, 2014 MYT 7:50:16 AM

Despised for the wrong reasons

BY PHILIP GOLINGAI

The Suluks in Sabah face unwelcome attention and discrimination, no thanks to history, politics and the Lahad Datu armed intrusion.

YOU mean to say they were not all Suluks?” said a top security officer from peninsular Malay­sia.

We were in Lahad Datu town in the east coast of Sabah and we were discussing, among others, last year’s Sulu armed intrusion in Kampung Tanduo, which is about an hour’s drive from where we were having teh tarik.

The officer was surprised when The Star told him that the 200-odd intruders were mostly Bajaus from islands in the southern Philippines.

“The intrusion was led by Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram (the younger brother of self-styled Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III) who is a Tausug (known in Sabah as Suluks). But most of his men were Bajaus,” I said.

“His third wife is a Bajau who is related to communities living around Tanduo and nearby islands in the Philippines.”

“That’s news for me. I always thought the intruders were Suluks,” said the security officer who is based in Lahad Datu.

The next day, I had lunch with Ali Andu Enjil, a 53-year-old Suluk community leader in Lahad Datu, and Chin Khi Ming, a 60-year-old born and bred in Lahad Datu.

“Asal ada curi, asal ada bunuh, orang cakap Suluk yang buat (When there is a theft or a murder, people will say that it was a Suluk who did it),” said Ali Andu.

“Almost everyone blamed the armed intrusion on the Suluks,” said Chin, who proudly calls himself a Lahad Datu boy. “When the Tanduo incident happened last year, many labelled the Suluks as bad guys.”

“Despite that, I still tell people that I am Sino-Suluk. I am mixed and nobody can change that. My dad is Chinese and my mother is Suluk mixed with Chinese,” said the rugged Chinese-looking Chin.

During the 1850s, Chin’s great, great grandmother was a Dayang Dayang (Tausug princess) whose father was the Sultan of Parang in Jolo.

“In those days, there was not only one Sultan in Jolo but many. The strongest among them was the Sultan of Sulu,” said Chin.

The Sultan of Sulu wanted to marry the Dayang Dayang who was in her teens. The princess did not want to marry the powerful Sultan, who was her cousin, as he had many concubines already.

“After a long discussion with her father, she was allowed to flee Jolo in a flotilla and they sailed to North Borneo (that’s what Sabah was called before the formation of Malaysia in 1963),” he said.

The princess’ entourage landed in Sungai Atas, Kunak, and they hid in the jungle for months as the jilted sultan had sent his men to find her.

“Her escorts were not allowed to call her Dayang Dayang as they were worried that her identity would be exposed. She had to relinquish her royal title,” he said.

Chin’s Dayang Dayang story spurns the general perception that the Suluks are pendatang tanpa izin (illegal immigrants) as the community had lived in North Borneo before the formation of Malaysia.

In fact, Lahad Datu in the Suluk language means “the Land of the Datus”. At the end of the 17th century, the Sultan of Sulu controlled the area. Sabah’s Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin is a Suluk.

Ali Andu’s family migrated to North Borneo from Siasi island in Sulu province in the 1950s to cari makan (to make a living).

“My family is Tausug. But when they applied for the North Borneo passport, my parents wrote ‘Bajau’ in the race column,” he said.

“The British (which colonised North Borneo) will tell you to go back if you were a Tausug. They saw the Tausug as troublemakers. The Tausug was a race that the British could not subjugate as they were fighters.”

Ali Andu’s family officially changed their race from Bajau back to Suluk when they applied for the Malaysian identity card in 1963.

However, there are some Sabah politicians who are officially a Bajau but the Suluk blood runs in their vein. They hide their ethnicity for political reasons.

The height of the Suluk political power in Sabah was from 1967 to 1974 during the era of the Usno government led by Tun Mustapha Harun, a Suluk. However, as the Suluks lost political prominence during the era of Berjaya (1976 to 1985) and PBS (1985 to 1994), some politicians did not want to be identified as Suluk.

In Sabah, a Sungai, Bajau or other ethnicity can actually be a Suluk. Some migrant Suluks hide their ethnicity to avoid discrimination.

The Moro war against Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos in Jolo island resulted in thousands of Tausugs fleeing their homeland to take refuge in Sabah.

Sabahans began to associate the Suluks with pelarian (refugees) who were seen as troublemakers. Sabahans also view the Suluks negatively as they are seen as pengundi hantu (phantom voters) who changed the state’s political demographic in the 1990s.

“But non-Suluk Sabahans don’t understand that there is a difference between the Suluks who lived in the state before Malaysia was formed and those who came after 1970s,” Ali Andu said.

“For example, the Tausugs call us (the pre-1963 Suluks) cowards as we are peace-loving people whereas they came from a culture of war,” he said. “In general, Suluks who are illegal immigrants are more vocal and aggressive as they come from an environment which is difficult to survive.”

After the Tanduo armed intrusion last year, the Suluks faced even more discrimination.

“When there is a roadblock and you say you are a Suluk, the police will check you thoroughly, but this does not happen to a Bajau,” Ali Andu said. “When a Suluk applies for a job, it is more difficult for him to get that job.”

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Reblogged with Permission from the Author, Mr Philip Golingai.

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How do you react to this article? Please comment in this post.

Unu in Schema iban Pygmalion Effect?

In "schema" amuna in makamdus panindug ta ha unu-unu na kahalan. Mahunit na yadtu mapinda iban mahunit majugjug. Bang sawpama makarungug kita kabtangan "politician" in muna-muna sumuwd pa pikilan ta "corrupt, sugarul, iban putingan."

In pangatud ta yadtu amuna in "schema" ta matungud pa kabtangan "politician". Yaun da siya ha lawm utuk ta, magkawn adja pa babaw bang awn makasabbut kaniya. Mapinda pa baha' yadtu?

Mapinda bang ta kabayaan pindahun.

In "Pygmalion Effect" amuna in hambuuk sanjata ta supaya mapinda in matugas pagpindahun. In kabtangan yan manunjuki pa magpakusug sin pangatayan ta iban pamikil ha pagpasandung sin katan karayawan adja. Lupahun ta naa in kangiy-an.

Ha biyadtu, awn da waktu, kugdanan da sila sin "atay-tu'lid" hihihi! Sambat hi Apu', in katan bissara kunu' duwaa.

Kanda bang marayaw in bissara ta, kalu, umuwk pa kanila in duwaa ta. Lagi-lagi, manjari pa in pagpasandung sin karayawan adja mausal ta ha kabuhianan ta. Bang kita malugi', ayaw kita magsusa landu', pikilun ta awn da waktu makauntung da isab kita.

Sambat da sin Tuhan, subay kita masabar ha katan hipagparatung niya. Biyadtu in puunan sin Ridjiki.

Pag-ukab sin Human Rights Commision Monitoring Center ha Jolo

Hambuuk Commissioner sin Commission on Human Rights in nagdihil hilalaungan kaina ha pag-ukab sin kauna-unahan upis sin Human Rights ha Lupa' Sug.

Siya hi Hon Jose Manuel Mamamuag (amun ha patta).

Laung niya in participation, documentation iban reporting sin basic standards of human rights subay siya dahun pa kababaan bat maluhay in tau karungugan. Pagmisuwara kunu iban panglamuri in duwa mahalga element sin kasambuhan.

In Human Rights Office ha Sug kunu', laung pa niya, bukun adja ini magtabuk manga human rights cases. Pakusugun da isab nila in pagpamahalayak iban paghimati ha mga mahadjana sin Lupa' Sug bang unu in kapatut nila bilang manusiya.

In jimajatu kunu' sambat pa niya ha Sug biyaun, mataud kalingugan iban kulang in kasambuhan, ha biyadtu, timuman tuud in pagbutang sin Center ini.

Subay kunu' tuud awn panghati sin tau iban lagi subay sila lamud ha pagbissara ha halan kasambuhan.

Piyudji ra isab niya in RHRC ha pasalan pagda nila pa Lupa' Sug sin Center ha supaya kaluhayan na in manga tau iban kasuukan na magbayta sin manga kasusahn nila.

A Funny 12-move Chess Game

briskwarlock - jaxe472

Chess.com
1400-1800 3d - Board 4
May 14 2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 Is it good to move the h-pawn early in the game?

4. d4 Of course! Opening up the position is a nice option!

4... Nf6 5. O-O The love for the initiative. Spending some few pawns for fast development!

5... exd4 6. e5 Ne4 7. Re1 Nc5 8. Nxd4 Ne7 Why must it go backwards?

9. Nc3 d6 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Ndb5 Bd7 The fatal error!

12. Nxd6# Dead! It is always cool to be the attacking person in this type of games, but in the receiving end? We should not have felt any better. It always happens to us anyway. Some blunders, then the game has ended. 1-0


Replay the game here:

I play chess at Chess.com!

briskwarlock
Rating: 1690

Challenge me!

View my games

Today, I tried to ask something to my sister-in-law. Naglambing ba. I am turned down. I have repeated my request many times, but to no avail. :D

That's OK, there is always another day!

The Reasons it Floods in Manila Could also be the Same Reasons why it Floods in Sulu

10 reasons why it floods in Manila

CITY SENSE By Paulo Alcazaren (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 15, 2013 - 12:00am

Manila has been flooding for hundreds of years yet we never learn from the past.

Floods do not respect political boundaries and will flow from one city to the next yet we continue to address flooding (as well as all other urban problems) within the confines of individual LGUs. It does not make sense.

It’s raining season once again and we face the yearly problem of flooding in Metro Manila. I keep getting calls from broadcast media asking for interviews about the problem, its historical origins and urban redevelopment solutions. Giving these interviews I feel like a broken record enumerating the reasons for floods in the metropolis, so I figure it would be good just to list them once and for all.

This list may not contain all the reasons but these, in my opinion, are the major ones:

1. It floods because it rains; the rains and the typhoons that bring them have increased in magnitude. Yes, it’s climate change. To deny this is futile. It’s here now and it makes all historical flood levels, well, history. The paths of typhoons have also become unpredictable (not that we have enough weather men to predict them — many of our good ones have left for better-paying jobs overseas). Typhoons now cross parts of the archipelago that did not use to have them regularly and so people are caught unprepared. Despite these changes in patterns, Metro Manila still gets dumped with rain, especially since its total area, and population in this area, is equivalent to or larger than most provinces and many regions in the country.

2. It floods because of population and urbanization. Metro Manila has a population of 12 million and counting. Urbanization, specifically urban sprawl is a manifestation of all these millions living together and needing houses, buildings, roads, parking lots and infrastructure. All these cover ground that used to be open and able to absorb much of the storm water that fell on the metropolis. In our lifetimes we’ve seen fringes of the metropolis gobbled up and transformed from cogon and rice fields to thousands of subdivisions, hundreds of shops and malls, hectares of paved-over parking lots, dozens of business districts. All this hard covering serves to channel all the storm water much faster into an already inadequate drainage system designed when the reality was much more open land and much less rain. The open ground before served to mitigate the volume of rain that flowed into these drains, esteros and our rivers. We also had more plant cover and trees in the metropolis to help sop up all this water.

3. It floods because the rain comes down from denuded uplands. Metro Manila floods come from elevated surrounding regions, all the way up to the Sierra Madres. There, we have lost almost all of our original forest cover from illegal logging. All this forest cover lost makes millions of hectares of upland a bald watershed that flows freely into the metropolis. This situation is repeated around almost all major urban areas in the country. The source is upstream and this is where solutions should start, although it is among the longest-term solutions. We need to recover our forest cover to reduce the amount of rain that floods our low-level metropolis.

4. Metro Manila is not only low but it is sinking. Ground water extraction due to deep wells is causing major areas of the metropolis to sink. The north section of CAMANAVA and the southern cities from Pasay onwards have sunk from a foot to over a meter and this has made those areas more vulnerable to floods and storm surges. Scientists have pointed to the fact that this flattening has increased the reach of storm surges from the seaside to as much as 20 kilometers inland. So we get it from both ends in a perfect storm — from the mountains and from the sea. The ground is also sinking due to the weight of all that concrete, buildings and infrastructure mentioned in reason no. 2 above.

5. It floods because we have less drainage than before. Reports have it that we have lost almost half of our metropolitan esteros and canals. We used to have over 40 kilometers of them and now we only have about 20. Many have been lost to development, disappearing without a trace (now it regularly floods where they used to be of course).

6. It floods because many of those esteros, canals and waterways of our metropolis we have left are chock-full of informal settlers. Because there are no alternatives for low-income mass housing, desperate people settle in desperate areas. These settlements have little by way of solid waste management and sewers. All these go to the waterways, filling many of them so solid that dogs can cross over them. And we wonder why it floods. Many of these drainage ways and easements were identified in the several master plans made for Manila and Quezon City. Planners had allocated as much as 50 meters of space on either side of these but greed set in and these easements disappeared and what little was left are now our favelas teeming with millions.

7. It floods because the main flood control system started in the ’70s was never completed. The Manggahan floodway was only one half of the picture. It was meant to channel floodwater into Laguna Bay. The lake was meant only as a holding area and the excess water was to have been flushed from there to Manila Bay via the Parañaque spillway. That spillway was never built. To build it now would cause trillions and urban sprawl has seen its path covered with more millions of people and thousands of structures.

8. It floods because what little left of our drains and flood control infrastructure is ill-maintained.Reaching many of them is a problem because of informal settlements. Overlapping jurisdictions of local and national agencies conspire to dissipate responsibility and funding for this vital task of ensuring our drains are unclogged and free. It’s just like homeowners not cleaning their gutters of debris before a rainy season. When the typhoons come, the gutters overflow.

9. It floods because urban development is unplanned and unfettered. Mega-developments that see clusters of 30 to 40-storey towers on retail podiums surrounded by hectares of parking cause havoc in districts planned with drainage infrastructure meant for low-density development. Because there is a lack of planning context (actually a lack of any planning at all), all drainage, road and traffic infrastructure is useless to carry the additional load — that’s why most flooded areas are also traffic-clogged.

10. The final reason it floods in this short list (and there are many other reasons) is politics. Metro Manila is made up of 16 cities and one town (Pateros). Floods do not respect political boundaries and will flow from one city to the next yet we continue to address flooding (as well as all other urban problems) within the confines of individual LGUs. It does not make sense. Politics also conspires to keep informal settlers where they are because they represent votes.

The overlapping jurisdictions is also exacerbated by another layer — that of national government and yet a third layer, that of the MMDA. The ultimate fourth layer of discord is the fact that the source of floods is beyond the political jurisdiction of Metro Manila and in the hands of the provinces around it. Any sustainable solution to flooding must be at this regional context and the assumption that, within the metropolis, governance is rationalized to address this one big problem as one effort, not the effort of 17 government units, the MMDA and national agencies. Politics has divided and conquered us… and it is also drowning us in yearly and constant floods.

* * *

Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.

Reblogged from http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/2013/06/15/953965/10-reasons-why-it-floods-manila.

In Search for better Livelihood in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi

Sitangkai island is a jagged Kris-shaped island, a 2nd class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, and it is the southernmost settlement of the Philippines. It is happily being dubbed in the Wikipedia as the "Venice of the Philippines":

"It is called. . . [as such] due to the use of boats as primary transportation, although footbridges connect one house from another" (Wikipedia)

"The major sources of livelihood are fishing and farming, although there is very sparse agricultural land available. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 30,514 people in 7,349 households." (Wikipedia)

Greener Pastures

Sitangkai is a place of choice of people who want to experience livelihood using the resources of the sea. Many immigrants from Sulu come to Sitangkai, and live in the Pondohan out in the sea, a throwing distance from Sabah, Malaysia.

Pondohan are settlements in the shallow part of the sea in the middle of the ocean. In these settlements, the people established their fishing and seaweed farming communities.

Because the majority of the people in Sitangkai come from the Sulu area, you can easily understand where the people living in each Pondohan came from.

There is a Pondohan called Suwang Pukol Tapul, Suwang Pukul Ubian, Suwang Pukul Luuk, then Siyantuk Talipao, Siyantuk Panamao, and Siyatuk Pasil, etc.

The very last island must be the Pondohan Bungin.

When you take out people in the Pondohan and put it back to Sitangkai, they would not have fit together in the small land area of Sitangkai island. They all have to remain standing.

Why stay in Pondohan?

People love to stay in the Pondohan because of the assurance of Peace and Order.

"Marayaw mag-usaha ha Sitangkai," Mr Alnajer Kalinggalan said. "Wayruun hiluhala."

Mr Alnajer Kalinggalan is a member of the Pondohan Suwang Pukul Tapul.

Mr Kalinggalan's family maintains out in the sea 1500 lines of seaweeds. That is equivalent to 15 hectares of sea space.

The industry had given his family P30,000 regular monthly income from dried seaweeds. Additionally he may get occasional income from buyers of live seaweeds as seedlings.

For more than a decade of his farming in Sitangkai, he is able to put his family to schools. And he is especially proud that he has bought three long guns when he is in Sitangkai.

"Di' kaw pag-addatan sin Kampung mu bang way kaw Sinapang," is the mindset of Mr Kalinggalan why he bought the guns.

Changing of mindsets

But few years ago, he sold all his guns. "Biyugit ku na katan in hinang ku karupangan. Nag-usaha na adja aku."

Why? Because he already felt secure long ago about the Tawi-Tawi's form of leadership, which is now being monopolized by the Sahali clan.

There are no more crimes committed now in Sitangkai, according to Sherma K. Uddin, also a seaweed farmer in Sitangkai.

"Bang awn magkapatay, magtuy asubuhun in kawman bang mayta piyatay. Pag-ingat taga dusa, way na bissarahun," Ms Uddin explained.

It is assumed that people get killed in Sitangkai because of their wrongdoings. They must have done something bad that's why they are killed.

But when the family want to avenge the death of one of their members, especially if the family is from Tapul, chimed in Mr Alnajer Kalinggalan, big problem would come about (because "Di' magparapat in Tau Tapul," he said). There would happen a fierce clan feud.

"In addat sin tau didtu, magturu-turu," said Mr Kalinggalan. They surely will come to an aid immediately when one of their alliance has problems.

When those feuds could not be settled by the Sitangkai mayor, it's when the Governor of Tawi-Tawi tries to intervene. But, he always make sure that both sides has already suffered casualties.

How war is settled in Tawi-Tawi

Mr Kalinggalan said, the first step is for the Governor to find for amicable settlement of both parties. And when both parties do not want that, the Governor will decide to purchase all their farming sites, then send them back home to Sulu or Basilan, wherever their point of origin. That's the second and final step of settling conflict in Tawi-Tawi.

If in case, both parties of the conflict agree to the peace settlement, then the Governor, himself, will shoulder the medical expense of the wounded. And if there should be "blood money" for the dead, he will pay for it.

The governor, according to Mr Kalinggalan, believes that Tawi-Tawi is a place for livelihood, not for war. If you want war, go back to your place and do your vendetta over there.

Stern warning and news of progress

The governor do not want the peace and order in Tawi-Tawi disturbed.

It is no wonder that the Tawi-Tawi had become developed faster than Sulu. According to Abdulpatta H. Isnaji, also a farmer in Sitangkai, the people in Tawi-Tawi is better equipped materially than their Sulu's counterparts.

He said: "In dayahan da ha Sug amura in manga ha politic. Ha Tawi-Tawi, dayahan in katan. Awn katan sasakatan dagat way humalga."

There are many water vehicles in Sitangkai and Tawi-Tawi than land vehicles.

Cebu Pacific has also already put up daily flights in Tawi-Tawi since 2011.

Sunstar has the following news in October 13, 2011:

"THE maiden flight of Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), the country's largest national flag carrier, for the Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi route will take off early Friday from Zamboanga City.

"The maiden flight will depart from the Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA) at 6:25 a.m. and will arrive in the province of Tawi-Tawi via the Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao, the province' capital town, at 7:25 a.m.

"The regular daily flight from Tawi-Tawi is scheduled to depart at 7:55 a.m. and to arrive at 8:55 a.m. at ZIA.

" 'CEB offers the lowest fare between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, its 50th destination. We are very optimistic about our Zamboanga operations, especially that this is our fourth route from this commercial center in Western Mindanao. We can see that the market for Cebu Pacific flights can really be stimulated by our trademark low fares,' said CEB Vice President for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog Thursday."

Philippine Airline, too, is having a daily regular flight to Tawi-Tawi.

The long and circumferential road in Bongao and most of Tawi-Tawi is now finished, too.

There is also mining industry in Tumbagaan island where many people had been given the opportunity for job.

Our wish for Sulu

Indeed, there is fast development going on in Tawi-Tawi. The Sulu Island is breathlessly keeping the pace behind.

As long as our people in Sulu would not change their schema to the positive ones, their collective bad dua' everyday will surely be answered by Allahu Taala.

I always say that my grandmother had told me, and I will have to say it again: "Tumtuma apu' ku, pagkamaya' kaw ha pagbissarahun, pasal in katan bissara Dua'!"

Why can't we wish something good for Sulu. Is it really that hard?

You get what you expect; you get what you believe in. It's the law of life.

The Pygmalion Effect

Let's learn from Pygmalion, a mythology figure, yes, but the "Pygmalion Effect" is now proven effective by Science. It makes individuals perform better when you have good expectation of them.

Pygmalion is a man who fell in love with his statue. He revered the statue like a real person, and presto! The statue was given life and became his wife at the end of the story.

That's the "pygmalion effect." and we can also do it. We should shed the opposite effect which is the "Golem Effect" from our collective schema.

Let us no longer expect for the worse. Instead let us think of everything good for Sulu and its people. We truly need all the great Dua' from each and everyone of us.

Let us love Sulu.

Lupa' Sug Bangun Kaw! (Wake Up, Sulu!)

The Town of Jolo.

The Following Poem, written by Rizza May, is an entry to the "Pusaka sin Kamaasan Tarasul Contest" of the I Love Sulu group in Facebook.

This Tausug poem or "Tarasul" is written in the correct orthography of the Bahasa Sug, the language of the People of the Current, the People of Sulu.

***

"LUPA’ SŪG BANGUN KAW"
Rizza May


Lupa’ Sūg bangun kaw dayng ha kalammahan,
Ayaw namayan magpasād sin ngān katamakan,
Bukun na kaw biya' sin nakauna yadtu liyabayan,
Dugaing na in kahālan makahansul pangatayan,

Lupa’ Sūg bangun kaw dayng ha kamudāratan,
Upihi in tahun limabay waktu Kastila’ iban Milikan,
Sambat da sin magpamūng wala' kaw kiyarapatan,
Hangkan balikan in kāina tagna' timpu sin kamāasan.

Lupa’ Sūg bangun kaw sabab sūng na kaw maligad,
Ukaba in mata taynga mu ayaw kaw magpasād,
Hiynang na kabubugaan dayng ha gimba pa higad,
Wayna likawanan daran na sadja in dugu' naaasag.

Lupa’ Sūg bangun kaw bukun na kaw biya' tagna',
Bang upamakun bay malubu na kaw tuud tagha',
Ayaw na magpatural bukun nasa kaw yan pūlna',
Mataud na in lamud bang timakdil sayul nangka'.

Hisiyu in subay magpalindug kaymu dayng ha kasu'duyan?
Amun sila manga laggu' tiyan nagnanakura' duun hayan,
Bukun in hinangun nila magdaya magpalingkat kabāyan,
Pasāran in raayat binsanaun nila kansangan.

Hariin na in manga nagguguwal gagandilan?,
In manga sila hālul-akkal bāyan-buddiman,
Mahita' wayna kubbut nagbuta-bisu sin kahālan,
Piyasāran in hula' piyaglummu' piyangidnapan.

Amuna ini in piyagbantug pa katilingkal ālam?
Wayruun kunu' kiyarapatan dayng ha Kastila pa Milikan,
Sumagawa' bang ha kira-kira ku biya' maiyan putingan,
Sabab malayu' na tuud in Lupa’ Sūg sin liyabayan.

Huw-un bunnāl in Lupa’ Sūg hula' sin manga gagandilan,
Sā' ha bihayaun hula' na sin manga tau bugaan,
Mataud na in piyagtasak sin satru' ha umbun-umbunan,
Sagawa' wayruun hangsulag in tumindug pa pantayan.

Ayaw na magtūg-tūg magbisu-bisu sin kasabunnālan,
Tagnai na bulata in mata pangatud-ngaturan,
Atulihi in taynga bat kadungugan in jimatu kahālan,
Matayma' mu iban sin diy' amu yan in kimugdan.

Lupa’ Sūg bangun na kaw bihayaun tagna',
Nalukat-lambing na in raayat manga mānusiya',
Wayna buli rapat magbalik pa in kahanung sin hula',
Bang kaw ri'pa mamikilan mataud na tuud majūljana'.

Lupa’ Sūg bukun aku missara bihaini bat in aku bukun malasa,
Sagawa' di' aku mabaya' magbuta-bisu na sadja,
Bang sadja awn gaus kapatut ku iban kawasa,
Huminang aku rān bat in kahālan mu mapinda.

Manga nagnanakura' sin Lupa’ Sūg bati' na kamu,
Ulangig sin manga raayat andu' kailu dunguga niyu,
Bukun kamu na sadja in magpalaggu' sin tiyan maamu,
Haataya niyu ra in kapatut namu' duun ha kawasa niyu.

Bangun na kamu manga nakura' sabab in kamu natutūg,
Nagpaamu-amu kamu ha kantil kutsun nalilissuk,
Malayngkan in siyapahan niyu yan magpaintul sin Lupa’ Sūg,
Sumagawa' putingan kamu nakalandu'-landu' tuud.


***

What can you say about the poem?

First Win Never Dies

Image Credit: ascedtu.com

N. Sabturani - E. Wave
Sulu Chess Club
June 23, 2007

This game is important to me because this is the very first win I ever get against a very strong player in Jolo, Sulu. Before this, Nash Sabturani always gave me hard beatings at the board.

How the Pro-Kidnapping Groups Curtail Right to Decent Work in Sulu

Jolo, Sulu, the Land of Many Missed out Opportunities.

Missed out opportunities in Sulu looks like to have been orchestrated by the rich, powerful, and the famous in Sulu.

Let me explain why, and allow me to begin with the ARMM PSPB.

The PH Marines are Human Too

We were invited last May 22, 2014 (well, actually just a proxy for GMA News in Sulu) to graze the Joint Anniversary Celebration of the Philippine Marines in Sulu. It was held inside the Camp Bautista, Bus-Bus, Jolo, Sulu.

This is Sulu Kris reflection after the event.

Video: Full Coverage of the March 14 Anti-Kidnapping Rally in Sulu

Doc Raden Ikbala together with a thousand people, who had enough of kidnapping in Sulu, converged in Plaza Marina, Jolo, Sulu to voice out their sentiments against kidnapping last March 14, 2014. 

The following are the full coverage of the event, dubbed as A Thousand People Indignation March and Blitzkrieg Rally Against Kidnapping in Sulu. 

The video is sub-divided into seven parts for easier uploading (on the uploader's end) and easier viewing (on ours).

Part 1