118th Regular Session...........Palompon SB

Since my schedule is not fully loaded, I decided to visit the local SB session hall, and to my surprise I've learned a lot from the said visit. It is also a good time to know what our local legislators are doing. And of course you will know whom to vote again and assess the qualification of most of the municipal councilors who wants to be sent back to the said august body.

Upon my arrival I was immediately treated to the fast approval of different budgets of various baranggays of the town such as Central I, Santiago, Catigahan, Mazawalo who has the highest budget approved that day. Other baranggays are enjoined to follow the example of Baranggay Mazawalo on how they were able to get the approval of P1,602,193.00 pesos as their annual budget while others cannot even get half or one fourth of the said amount.

The only baranggay who suffered a snag in their attempt to get their budget approved was Baranggay San Pedro when the Federation of Sangguniang Kabataan headed by Hon. Hazel Cangmaong asked for a deferment of the said baranggay's budget due to the fact that the SK head of the said Baranggay have not remitted the annual dues to the SK Federation.

The session was even suspended to give way to the explanation of Brgy. Captain Roxas of San Pedro, on what happened to the said allocation wherein it was mandated by the Local Government Code that ten per cent of their budget should be allocated for the SK of all baranggay's concerned. After some questioning, mostly from Hon. Gilbert Manongsong, who even offered to give some advise and solution on how to solve the impasse, he was instructed to talk with the SK and SK Federation heads respectively on how they will go about the problem.

Hon. J. Villardo III questioned why the local finance committee of the said Baranggay have been endorsing budgets which are still questionable, thereby making the SB Committee on Appropriation and Finance to endorse also to the SB a budget that is not yet ready for approval.

After the session's suspension was lifted, Atty Jesus Villardo III proposed to make a resolution on each of the Memorandum of Agreement's (MOA's) executed by the Hon. Mayor Eulogio Tupa with different organizations or agencies to make it more binding and executory. Particular emphasis was made on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) made by Professors or Doctors of Education coming from the Visayan State University (VSU) in Baybay, Leyte headed by Dr. Eduardo Mangaoang and two others, all academic experts, on the PHESCHEM Corp. plant site located and encompassing Baranggay Cantandoy, San Miguel and Liberty of this town.

Atty. Villardo said that upon reading the EIA report, he was amenable that they have to adopt the recommendation made by the EIA team because of the urgency and necessity of stopping the degradation, destruction and the saving of what is left from the wanton and unthinkable wastage of our natural resources and watershed area which is supposed to guaranty ours' and our future generation's drinking water reservoir.

Another resolution that the SB wanted to adopt and approve is the recall of Sr. Insp. Federico Sanchez to the Palompon Police Station saying that the re-assignment of him was made within the Comelec ban (60 days) on transfers and re-assignments. They also wanted to include the citations and awards given to the said police officer as a reason for his retention.

Orendain's sanggunian rules of procedure

The Long Trip to Catbalogan

Saturday, February 6, 2010 was an extraordinary day for me, since I will be traveling away from my usual work and station. This day, I will be joining my former co-employees at the Bureau of Customs, Sub-Port of Isabel, Leyte to Catbalogan City, Western Samar to attend the burial/internment of a colleague who is from the said place.

The agreed time of departure from Palompon is between 6:30am and 7:00am, but again because of the so-called "Filipino Time" habit, we were able to leave my place only at about 8:00am, in a Nissan Urvan van owned by our Sub-Port Collector, considering that we have to travel for about more or less 5 hours. Included, are the stops for peeing and lunch in Tacloban City. The van is filled to the brim "ika nga", because there are also civilian friends who joined the trip to Catbalogan City, W. Samar.

Our first official stop is at Andok's, a local eatery in Tacloban City where we took our early lunch while waiting for the other Kia car with some Phil. Phosphate Corp. employees headed by Mr. Dan Tentativa and our Acting Deputy Collector, Mr. Dodo Aranas.

Along the way we have to stop for the usual checkpoints i.e. Comelec and PNP for gun bans, LTO for registration papers and out of line for public utility vehicles. As usual at the start of the trip, when many are still wide awake, you can still hear the laughter and happy disposition of everybody. But the ambiance and cool air coming not from the natural air outside, but from the air-conditioned van was enough to make one sleepy. So one by one they became silent............until we arrived safe and sound.

Though travel is quite far, we still arrived on time for the internment scheduled at 2:00pm of the same day. Through the cellphone, we were instructed to proceed to the Roman Catholic Church, as they were already on the way. Upon arrival we immediately proceeded to the church where we saw the body of the late Charlie Go, just inside the main door, still awaiting instruction from the priest. Since cases like this (suicide) were treated differently on a case to case basis.

Luckily, the local priest allowed the remains to be brought near the altar, and he even celebrated Mass to the eternal repose of his soul as requested by the family and friends of the late Customs employee. After the Mass, a simple eulogy was given by Mr. Sevellino Tomol, the immediate superior of the late Mr. Go, and his mother and daughter, after which the body was brought to the city cemetery for internment. Then after bidding goodbyes to the family, we started our long trip back home.

By seven o'clock in the evening we were already in Tacloban were food (after early reservation) from OCHO restaurant, a native eatery in Tacloban City were people who are crazy about native foods can be found. If you will try to look at their faces and attire,you will think that many who are eating in the said place are the who's who in Tacloban City and vicinity.

We took a hearty meal of grilled pork, grilled fish, grilled scallops, squid calamares, lato salad, kangkong cooked in coco milk, and some other viands which escapes my mind as of now. We also took a bottle of the world famous San Miguel Lite and Dark pale pilsen to push the hearty and sumptuous meal right to where it should belong. After which, we started our trek to home base.

While others tried to take a nap and some were forced to sleep by the prevailing atmosphere, I decided to start a conversation with the driver of the van so that he would be forced to pay attention to what he is doing.
It did not take long to reach my destination, which is Palompon..........and after disembarking from the van, off they to go the their final destination.........of Isabel, Leyte.

Livelihood Training Seminar

Once again the Office of Congressman Eufrocino (Dodong) Codilla, of the 4th District has sponsored a Livelihood Training Seminar in cooperation with the National Livelihood Development Corporation and Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Foundation for the people of Palompon, Leyte at the Palompon social Center.

It was a two day affair starting from February 6, 2010 to February 7, 2010 with the following livelihood program: Reflexology & Body Massage, Hair Cutting and Cosmetology, Meat & Fish Processing, Candle Making, Soap Making, Manicure, Pedicure & Hotspa, and Cellphone Repair.

Opening the affair was DSWD municipal head Ms. Nelanie Sanico together with Ms. Rebecca Mendoza and their ever trusted employees. All the livelihood programs have been able to attract a minimum of 30 participants for the Manicure, Pedicure and Foot Spa and a maximum of 5o participants for the Meat & Fish Processing Module respectively.

Seen at the were the Hon. Mayor Eulogio S. Tupa, Municipal Administrator Constantino Tupa, Hon. Councilmen Gilbert Manongsong, Jesus Sanchez, and Rodolfo Canson. Taking pictures for the Budyong sa Palompon was staff writer Jose Pajaron.

I for one have decided to review candle making, since I have already tried making candles about ten years ago.

I was thankful that I was part of the group of participants in candle making because I learned some things which I don't know before.

This I want to share to others who are in need of additional income to augment whatever they are earning, or to make their time worthwhile.

So many are complaining that their income is so small, but they don't do something to improve their lot.

Example of this, is the yearly livelihood training program being initiated by Congressman Eufrocino Codilla, But from the reduced number of participants this year, which is quite smaller than last years', it can be seen that many are not interested in improving their lot, because many of those who participated can be considered as not having "less in life" but still want to improve their lives.

How to quit a soft drink habit

He used to drink up to 8 cans of Diet Coke a day.

Posted by Karen Datko on Thursday, December 10, 2009 5:19 PM

Any fool knows that you can save money by not drinking soda. But what if you’re a soft drink freak?

During his more-than-decade-long love affair with Diet Coke, Steve at brip blap sometimes drank eight cans a day. Reportedly, the caffeine in Diet Coke and other types of pop can be addictive.

• Bing: Which soft drinks contain caffeine?

Steve quit in 2005. He might drink a regular soda from time to time, but diet no longer passes his lips.

How did he quit? Among his tips:

Imagine your savings. Steve writes: “I was working in one office where the Diet Coke was free, which was fine, but when I moved into consulting I found I was dropping $1.25 four or five times per working day (let alone at home) to get a soda. That’s almost $1,600 per year.” (This makes us think of that angry woman in the commercials opposing a tax on soda and sugary drinks, who appeared to consider them an essential food group. Lady, if you’re already struggling financially, cut out the pop.)

• Bing: Soda tax pros and cons

Adam at Your Money Relationship, who gave up his daily 20-ounce Pepsi as part of a new focus on health, estimated that if he had continued that pace for the rest of his life, he would have spend $51,000.

Find other things to drink. Steve mentions the benefits of water (room temperature goes down easier than ice cold, he says) and tea, and strongly recommends one part juice mixed with two parts seltzer as a satisfying substitute. If you have caffeine withdrawal -- and aren't giving it up entirely -- develop a taste for black coffee (made at home, of course).

Tipnut said a glass of water with lemon juice on crushed ice worked for her as a soda subsitute. "The crushed ice added a bit of ‘texture’ to the beverage that I felt was an acceptable replacement to the carbonated soda," she wrote.

Avoid mixed drinks that include pop. Steve loved Stoli Vanil with vanilla-flavored Coke, when it was available. He drinks wine now.

Seek support. If you tell everyone you’ve quit soft drinks, you’ll be less inclined to backslide.

Be patient. He says the craving disappears in a few weeks. Now diet sodas taste like chemicals to him, and regular soda is much too sweet. “Soda is just one of those things you’ll never miss once you give it up,” he says. “Trust me.”

Why quit? Steve writes, “Sodas cost a lot of money, they eat away at your insides and your teeth, they dehydrate you, and the long-term health effects of aspartame (for diet drinks) are still being debated.”

For the record, the Coca-Cola Co. stands by its products.

(Actually, Coca-Cola is not an effective toilet bowl cleaner, as some claim. For more Coke myths -- and there are plenty -- read this report at Snopes.com.)

Would you pay more for less Coke?

I am re-posting this post to let you be aware about the problem of the high cost of sugar since "soft drink's" uses a lot of sugar that is detrimental to our health.

New Coke Mini can cost a lot more than a regular-size can. Still, maybe having the option of a smaller size is progress.

Posted by Teresa Mears on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 3:34 PM

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is outraged. The new 7.5-ounce Coke Mini is selling for 50% to 140% more per ounce than the regular 12-ounce cans.
“Coke to Fleece America by Charging More for Less,” trumpets the CSPI, with a subhead reading “$8.50 a gallon for small cans of water & high fructose corn syrup?”
Umm, is $4.50 a gallon for larger cans of water and high-fructose corn syrup somehow a good deal?
We are trying to muster up the proper amount of outrage over the Coke Mini (we certainly agree with the CSPI on a lot of other issues, like the problem of misleading labels on food), but we just can’t do it. As far as we’re concerned, we will happily pay more for smaller portions. In the long run, paying more for less may be better for you.

• Bing: Pepsi or Coke?

The new Coke Mini is available in Washington, D.C., and New York and is supposed to be for sale in the rest of the United States by April. Coke touts on the can the fact that the drink has only 90 calories, as opposed to the 140 calories in a regular 12-ounce can of Coke.
Somehow this is supposed to be more appealing than the existing 8-ounce cans with 100 calories, which don’t seem to be very popular (and also usually cost more than the larger cans).

• Video: Drive-through diet debunked

Coca-Cola also is planning mini cans of Cherry Coke, Sprite, Orange Fanta and Barq's root beer, which we should see on store shelves sometime this year.
The 90-calorie, more-expensive cans of Coke follow the popular 100-calorie snack trend, in which manufacturers package various unhealthy snacks into 100-calorie packages and charge more for them per unit than they do for large packages. Who can argue that eating 100 calories worth of Oreos is NOT better than eating 300 calories’ worth?
While we’d rather see smaller portions for lower prices, smaller portions for higher prices are at least a welcome step away from the “supersize” everything trend.
According to a 2002 report by the the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, getting a lot more food for a little more money may benefit restaurants, but it isn’t good for our health. There is strong evidence that, when presented with smaller portions, people eat less.
The report, titled “From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Supersizing,” concluded:

Value marketing (providing more food for less money) is a technique that is profitable for food companies, but that results in large portion sizes and contributes to overeating. . . . (Value marketing) encourages the customer to spend a little extra money to purchase larger portion sizes and leaves the customer with the impression that s/he has “gotten a deal.”

For those of us looking for value, that presents a dilemma: better value or smaller portions?
Are we going to go out and buy a pack of Coke Minis? Of course not. No way would we pay $8.50 (P399.50) per gallon for high-fructose corn syrup. We are going to drink water. And the high price of those 100-calorie snack packs just reminds us we’re better off not buying any Oreos at all.
What dilemmas do you face when you weigh value against portion size or packaging? Are you more likely to buy the Coke Mini than you are a regular-size Coke? Or the 100-calorie snacks instead of a larger package? Where would you like to see smaller portions?

Election Fever Heating Up..........................

Election time is again in the air. You can see that the airlanes are again filled with so much ads about this and that candidate, even if the official Comelec designated date have not started yet. Tarpaulin of various candidates and political parties started mushrooming in different areas of the country, particularly during fiestas and local festivals, feast and what have you.

In our local parlance, it seems that the team of the former Mayor Mr. Ramon Chu Onate and Atty. Myra Georgina Laurente Arevalo had a headstart (picture above), against the team Kausaban of current Mayor Eulogio Sevilla Tupa and Lloyd P. Surigao as can be seen by various big tarpaulins installed in different areas in the town proper.

As per information gathered from our local Comelec office, the following are the official candidates of the two different parties: Kausaban headed by reelectionist Mayor Eulogio Sevilla Tupa , reelectionist Vice-Mayor Lloyd Pajaron Surigao. Candidates for municipal councilors are reelectionist Gilbert Diegor Manongsong, Rodolfo Arevalo Canson, Earl Potenciano Vendiola Bongbong, Donna Villa Marces Cerna-Gaspan, Jesus Licardo Sanchez, Harvey Fel Casilan Pinon, Vivian Mojado Sanchez, and Jesus Agura Villardo III.

On the other side are opposition candidates for municipal councilors: Ferdinand Tabernero de la Calzada, Brigido (Jun) Tapere Roble, Teodoro Matabalan Brocoy, Burt Mari Manalo Bregaudit, Juanito Derecho Asayas, Mesias Palanas Arevalo, Edgar Pogoy Pacaldo, and Reubin Bazarte Patalinghug. As of this writing no independent candidates have filed for any local position available.

On a higher level the picture of Richard Gomez the actor, as the candidate for Congressman of the group of former Mayor Ramon Onate are being pasted all over the place.

While their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas respectively are now included in their big tarpaulin displays.

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Water versus popular softdrink.

Now again, to help reduce the price of sugar, here's another product that uses sugar as if there's no tomorrow. Instead of drinking your favorite soda, why not drink pure water instead. Surely you will realize that there's a big difference that you can make in your life, if you will change your bad habit of drinking a product full of chemicals and full of sugar...............

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world's population)


#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger.


#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.


#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study.


#5. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers.


#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a printed page.


#8.. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?


COLA

#1. In many states, the highway patrol carries
two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from
the highway after a car accident.


#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke,
and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous china.

(I'm not too sure what it does to a septic system though!)


#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers,
rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.


#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals, pour
a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion..


#6. To loosen a rusted bolt, apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola
to the rusted bolt for several minutes.


#7. To bake a moist ham, empty a can of Coca-Cola into
the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil and bake.
Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix
with the Cola for a sumptuous brown gravy.


#8... To remove grease from clothes, empty a can of Coke
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run
through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen
grease stains.

It will also clean road haze from your windshield.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1 The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate), the
commercial trucks must use Hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean
engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water? or Coke?