Cebu International Convention Center

The Cebu International Convention Center believed to be the cheapest convention center in the world but controversies still haunts every walls of it. Constructed in such a way that awarding of contractors were already tainted and with malice. From an initial cost of P400,000,000.00 that rose up to P800,000,000.00 and now believed to be at P1 billion pesos. Poor Juan de la Cruz, the money supposed to be for him wasn't allocated for him but for those unscrupulous people who only mind their own interests.

Philippine TV Ratings April 13-15, 2007

Inaasahan nang mataas ang rating ng laban nina Pacquiao vs. Solis nu'ng Linggo.

Mataas din ang pagsisimula ng Fantastic Man ni Mark Herras nu'ng Sabado.

Tinalo na naman ng Wowowee ang Eat Bulaga.

Sa mga showbiz-oriented talk show, nanguna pa rin ang Startalk (12.6%), na sinundan ng S-Files (11.7%) at The Buzz (9.3%).

Narito ang nakalap naming overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA 7 at ABS-CBN 2 nu'ng BIYERNES (Abril 13):

SiS 11.3% vs. Homeboy 14.3%;

My Strange Family 12.9% at Pacquiao vs. Solis Countdown to Glory 12% vs. Game Ka Na Ba 20.9%;

Eat Bulaga 18.7% vs. Wowowee 22.1%;

Daisy Siete 16% vs. Inocente De Ti 14.2%;

Muli 13.3% at Princess Charming 13.3% vs. Kapamilya Cinema 10.3%;

Full House 15.4% vs. Pangako sa 'Yo 8.8%;

Gokusen 17.9% vs. Sineserye 14.9%;

24 Oras 24.8% vs. TV Patrol World 24.6%;

Asian Treasures 30.8% vs. Maria Flordeluna 22.4%;

Super Twins 32.3% vs. Sana Maulit Muli 22.7% at Maging Sino Ka Man 23.7%;

Lupin 34.8% vs. Maalaala Mo Kaya 23.3%;

Jumong 27.3% at Bubble Gang 19.4% vs. Pinoy  Big Brother 17.4% at Bandila 7%.

SABADO (Abril 14):

Eat Bulaga 21.5% vs. Wowowee 22.9%;

Startalk 12.6% vs. Nagmamahal Kapamilya 15.1%, Let's Go 10.1% at Star Magic Presents 11.3%;

Wish Ko Lang 14.1% vs. Little Big Superstar 7.2%;

Bitoy's Funniest Video 21.6% vs. TV Patrol Sabado 8.8%;

Fantastic Man 26.8% vs. Komiks 14.5% at Rounin Primer 15.1%;

Pinoy Pop Superstar 25% vs. John En Shirley 15.6%;

Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho 29.3% vs. XXX 20.6%;

Imbestigador 22.8% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 19%;

Hokus Pokus 14.6% vs. Aalog Alog 11.6%;

Sine Totoo 11.4% vs. Sports Unlimited 4.4%.

LINGGO (Abril 15):

Pacquiao vs. Solis 39.3% vs. ASAP 7.9%, Sukob 20.7% at Love Spell 10%;

S-Files 11.7% vs. The Buzz 9.3%;

Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang 17.8% vs. TV Patrol 13.5%;

Philippine Agenda 22.2% vs. Goin' Bulilit 20.1%;

Mel and Joey 26% vs. Rated K 19.8%;

All Star K 20.1% vs. Sharon 11.4%;

Daddy Di Do Du 16% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 16.7%;

Sunday Night's Boxoffice 13% vs. Sunday's Best 9.3%.

New Look, New Frontiers...

I decided to change the look and feel of my blog, it's been quite some time that I've been using the black theme and maybe it's now time to sport a new look signifying a more dynamic, more personal articles from me, more heart-thumping features that would excite my readers here. Not only to contain the dreaded TV ratings of the two television giants here in the Philippines but also will include feedback from current events, social issues, and also sports. but Youngblood if INQUIRER.net will be retained as this is my addiction since I was in my high school years.

i tried to put some pics of myself and my better half, hope you readers will not be offended that i'm committed already. hehehe, hope everyday that i will be getting more cellphone credits so that i could directly upload some interesting pics where i am assigned to go. Cebu is an interesting place, there are a lot of people, places and events to present Cebu here, also same with my hometown in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, a progressive city on the southern part of Negros Occidental.

im not really fond of blogging but since i knew that i could post entries directly from my phone, i was so excited that i could readily share what i am to share with you guys, from the places i went to, to the events i witnessed to , anything and everything under the sun.

watch out and see...

Morning Trip...

Fresh from our island getaway at Bantayan Island, Cebu

Valedictory ... from YOUNGBLOOD of INQUIRER.net

YOUNG BLOOD
Valedictory
By Tara Yap
Inquirer
Last updated 01:25am (Mla time) 04/17/2007

Sometimes I imagine speaking in behalf our graduating class. But since this is not going to happen, I might as well share with everyone what I would like to say:

Mr. President, members of the Board of Regents, distinguished guests, members of the faculty, students, parents, my fellow graduates. It is my distinct honor to be standing here today. As an undergraduate, although that description will no longer fit me once this ceremony comes to an end in three or four hours -- giving this speech is not only a difficult and monumental task, but also a thinking process.

My presence here is an irony in itself. I've never really believed (and I still don't to some degree) that a college diploma is the ticket to success. Or to put it differently, that a college diploma would guarantee one's survival on the rocky road of life. I have survived some difficult ordeals in my young life, without a degree to help me through.

Come to think of it, some of the most successful people earned no college degrees. Thomas Edison was one. He went to school for a total of three months, but was brilliant enough to invent the light bulb and phonograph, among other important inventions.

There is Bill Gates, a Harvard dropout who went on to found Microsoft and has become the world's richest person for more than a decade now.

In this country, we have more than a handful of examples. I'd leave out our 13th president and his dead best friend, although they both carved a niche in Filipino movies. But I do remember a prolific writer, who was so prolific that his poems, plays, novels, short stories and historical essays made him a National Artist for Literature. There was also the journalist-turned-senator-turned-diplomat whose name may ring a bell to our generation, thanks mainly to a Manila-based rock band.

But we are a people who have become so obsessed with diplomas that they have become fixtures in average Filipino living rooms. This no longer surprises me. After all, we live in a country where more than half of the population lives in dire straits, a stark reality that our leaders deliberately ignore, especially that narcissistic woman at the Palace by the river. To put it simply, we've been stuck in poverty for as long as anyone cares to remember and we've pinned our hopes either on the heavens or nonsensical noontime game shows.

It's all about resilience, many people say. Yes, we are a resilient people, and we have shown this time and time again. I do not only mean by Lapu-Lapu, who defended Mactan Island against Ferdinand Magellan and his minions, or Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio and their heroic sacrifices. I also am not referring only to Ninoy Aquino, who came home from exile in 1983 only to be greeted by bullets, or to those who cast off 14 long years of tyranny and made it possible for us to breathe the air of freedom again. Neither do I limit myself to the thousands who survive the flashfloods and landslides, or to those who live near railroad tracks or underneath bridges or sleep on cardboard boxes.

I am not about to put down our people's resilience, but resilience these days means exile -- banishment from our 7,107 islands! For the last 30 years, we have something in common with the wandering Jews -- the Diaspora.

The statistics are shocking. One out of every three Filipinos wants to leave this country and try his luck in lands far different from our own, be it Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, England, Australia, or the United States. Worse, he is ready to trade his citizenship in a jiffy.

A friend once called this phenomenon a "negative exodus." I don't have to look very far to confirm it. From where I'm standing now, I see more than 500 of graduating students from the College of Nursing. I don't know how many true Florence Nightingales are in your batch, but I'm certain that, with one or two exception, your reason for taking up the course is financial security. And I bet that in three to five years, most of you will be working in other countries.

Sadly, those who will go will never look back or even want to look back. I've heard so many say, "This country is hopeless. I'm leaving soon."

This remark captures the apathy and cynicism that have overwhelmed our people. But then considering what has been happening to our country since the woman occupied the Palace by the river five years ago, who can blame anyone for not giving a damn? I mean, here's someone who claims that it is the will of God that she be the leader of our country. But how on earth -- or in heaven -- can God accept a cheater, liar and thief? That clearly contradicts the core teachings of Christianity.

But why are we all here for this occasion? Why have we sacrificed at least four years of our lives to get our diplomas? Why have our parents spent thousands and thousands of pesos for us? Well, our very presence here only shows that we are not pinning our hopes totally on heaven or some nonsensical noontime game shows. Rather, we are pinning our hopes on this thing called college education. There must be something miraculous or magical about it.

There is a common belief among us that education can lift us from our sorry state. Or if we are not that miserable, that it will allow us to enjoy a better life than what we already have.

Fellow graduates, it is not easy to step into "the other world," where there are no walls to protect us. But very soon, we will find out that we have left our comfort zones. There will be hundreds, even thousands, of occasions when we will wish we were still in our comfort zones, that we do not have to face so many responsibilities.

Our education should help us see and prepare for the responsibilities we will face in the years to come. If we want to deserve to be called graduates, we should never run away from responsibilities. And I do not only mean our responsibilities to our jobs or families, but more so to our people and our society. When we receive our diplomas, we should not only take it as a personal triumph but consider it as an opportunity to heal and rehabilitate our wounded nation. Let us do our part. Let us not give up on our country.

Congratulations to each one of us! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Tara Yap, 25, is a research assistant at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. She's also a freelance writer and photographer.

Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos.

Blaze of Glory, Pacquiao vs. Solis

I was watching ABS-CBN's ASAP yesterday afternoon, enjoying its star-studded presentation. I wasn't that excited to watch Pacquiao fight for one thing I dont like him in politics. and to my surprise, ABS-CBN break the news that Pacquiao victoriously win the fight by TKO while the delayed telecast is currently aired over GMA7. Is ABS-CBN authorized to break the news considering that GMA7 got the rights of airing the fight? all i know GMA7 did nothing to spoil its viewers on the previous Pacquiao fights, did ABS-CBN toed the line?

What Cellphones Could Do...

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD DO ...

  

 
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.

    
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an  emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

    
  *I*

 
* The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112.* If you find

 

yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an

 

emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to

 

establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112

 

can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out.**

   
  
  *II*

  
 
* Subject: Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote 
keys?*

 

 
This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:

 

 
If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone.

 

 
Hold your cell phone about a   foot from your car door and have the person

 

at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on

their end. Your car will unlock.

 

Saves someone from having to drive your

keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away,

 and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you

can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

   
Editor's Note: *It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"*

 
 
  *III*

 

 
Subject: Hidden Battery power

   
Imagine your cell battery is very low , you are expecting an important call

 

and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve

 

battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with

 

this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This

 

reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

 

 
AND

  
 
*IV*

    
How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

 
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:

 

 
* # 0 6 #

 

 
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your

 
handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. when your phone get

 
stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They

 

will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the

 

SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.

  
 
You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either.

If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

    
Please spread this useful information around