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Quotable
Quotes |
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“Alam
po namin na ang buhay ng aming pamilya ay bahagi na
ng kasaysayan ng ating bayan. Desisyon po ng nanay
namin na mag-release kami ng statement, para maunawaan
ng lahat ang kanyang kasalukuyang kalagayan. Nakikiusap
po kami na sana maintindihan ninyo na kailangan ng
aming ina, kagaya ng lahat ng pasyenteng nagpapagaling,
ng panahon ng katahimikan.”
—Statement
of the Aquino family regarding former President Corazon
Aquino’s diagnosis with colon cancer.
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“50-50 percent.”
—Ousted
President Joseph Estrada when asked
about the probability of his running
for President come 2010. |
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“We
risked going to war with China. Are
we ready for it?”
—Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzales regarding
the impending passage of the Baseline
Bill in Congress which would enclose
parts of the Spratlys islands as part
of Philippine territory. (Inquirer.net)
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“With
all due respect to the Supreme Court,
they made a mistake, the majority made
a mistake and this motion for reconsideration
is an opportunity for them to correct
that mistake.”
—Senator
Francis Pangilinan regarding the Supreme
Court’s decision to uphold the
invocation by Commission on Higher
Education Chair Romulo Neri of PGMA’s
executive privilege during a Senate
inquiry about the NBN-ZTE scandal.
The Senate has already filed for a
motion for reconsideration before
the high court. (Inquirer.net)
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| De
Numero |
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200 |
Number
of Filipino mothers who die for every 100,000
live births, according to the UNFPA State of
the World Population 2007 Report, signifi cantly
higher as compared to Th ailand with 44; Malaysia,
41; Singapore, 30; the US, 17; and Canada, 6. |
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25,000 |
Bags
of rice wasted daily, according to a study done
by the Food Nutrition Research Institute of
the Department of Science and Technology. |
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51 |
Percentage
of the 1,200 respondents surveyed by Pulse Asia
who disapprove of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s
performance. Th e survey was done in February
21 to March 8. Arroyo’s October “disapproval”
rating went up from 39 percent. |
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| 22.91 |
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Percentage
of bar examinees who passed the 2007
Bar Examinations. A total of 1,289 out
of the 5,626 examinees passed the bar,
with Atenean Mercedita Ona topping with
an average of 83.55. |
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| 43.7 |
In
billions of pesos, amount earmarked by President
Gloria Arroyo as agriculture assistance fund. |
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| 7,753 |
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Number
of annulment or legal separation cases
fi led at the Office of the Solicitor
General in 2007, up by 71.5% from 4,520
cases fi led in 2001. |
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| 28.8 |
Percentage
of the poor’s expenditure allocated to buying
rice. |
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Madonna
in Manila |
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RUMORS
are fast circulating that Madonna—Yes, THE Madonna—is
coming to Manila sometime in the middle of this year.
And yes, it’s been rumored that she’s
going to have a ginormous concert at The Fort open
field, courtesy of Sunsilk, her latest shampoo endorsement.
But
the most recent rumor circulating about the Madonna,
aside from a probable marital problem, is about how
much her concert tickets are going to sell. Some showbiz
insiders, meaning people who have access to both Sunsilk
and the local entertainment biz, are saying that most
likely, patron seats are going to sell at P75,000.
Yes!
Seventy-fi ve Th ousand Pesos!!! Th at’s more
than the value of building a house under some non-governmental
organizations’ low-cost housing scheme!
The
thing is, people argue, having Madonna in Manila happens
only “once in a lifetime.” If many bought
Beyonce concert tickets for P20,000, then maybe there
will still be many who would be willing to spend seventy-fi
ve grand to see Madonna right at home. Besides, P75,000
is still a lot cheaper than buying airfare tickets
and booking a hotel room to watch Madonna perform
abroad.
But
still, P20,000 is a lot cheaper than P75,000!
And
to think that the Philippines is categorized as a
Third World, err, “developing” country.
How come some organizers—and very rich artists—are
so insensitive? Rice crisis anyone?
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After
Ocean Park, here comes Universal Studios |
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AFTER the successful opening of
Ocean Park in Manila, another world famous landmark
is said to be set to arrive in the Philippines—the
Universal Studios theme park.
This
after the Philippine Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) approved
the proposal of the Genting Berhad Group, which owns
the exclusive development rights of Universal Studios
in Asia, to develop 35 hectares of the Manila Bay
Integrated City, said to be the Philippines’
largest tourism development project.
The
Genting Berhard Group will invest US$3 Billion for
the project, which is expected to generate millions
of tourists annually for the Philippines. Th e construction
of the Universal Studios will coincide with other
development projects such as the construction of world-class
hotels and casinos around the area, which will turn
the reclaimed land into a Las Vegas or Macau type
of destination.
Despite
the projects’ promise of jobs, however, the
developers should expect resistance from anti-US,
anti-gambling, and anti-everything groups. Th is early,
Catholic bishops are protesting against the entry
of more casinos in the country, saying that gambling
is immoral especially in a country like the Philippines. |
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Why
the Philippines need to have a concrete population
control program |
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LOGIC dictates that the more people
there are on earth, the more resources needed to feed
the growing population.
This
is why we’re wondering why those opposing the
use of contraceptives are continually saying that
the rice crisis has nothing to do with the population
explosion.
Think
about the following:
a) Land is needed for rice cultivation;
b) Th e growing population is occupying more and more
land area;
c) Bigger population means higher rice consumption;
and
d) Less land area for rice cultivation equals less
rice production.
Hence,
the rice crisis.
Although
there are some who do not believe that the Philippines
is actually experiencing a rice shortage, the need
to have a concrete population control program is very
much imminent. It has become apparent that it’s
becoming more diffi cult each year to provide for
the fast growing number of Filipinos who need jobs
to up their standard of living or, going back to the
basics, food to eat. Facing a ‘real’ supply
crisis, not just of rice but of everything, will most
likely happen if we continue to reproduce at today’s
rate (the National Statistic Offi ce pegged it at
2.36% annually). So when are we going to act on it? |
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