I Am Blogie

There were two boats at the Coral Gardens when we went diving there today, ours and another group’s. Even though there was a buoy in the area, both boats lowered anchor dangerously close to the coral colonies. One of the boatmen said the buoy was too far out, is why. But, what about the beautiful [...]

Before I took up scuba diving, the place called Coral Gardens was my favorite snorkeling site. Now I don’t think I’d ever be satisfied with just swimming on the surface in this aquatic haven. I had my second and third dives there today — each with a different entry point. (I’m not sure how big [...]

Today is World Oceans Day, and it is also Blog Action Day for the Save the Philippine Seas campaign. As part of the latter, I have taken it upon myself to advocate for the conservation of the marine ecosystem in the Gulf of Davao. It’s not going to be easy, I know, but it’s got [...]

Yesterday I had my first two official dives as part of my scuba certification program under SDI, administered by the cool people at Carabao Dive Center. We did Coral Gardens and the Dapia Wall, both found around Talikud Island, Samal. That was my first time to dive Coral Gardens, which is also a great spot [...]

I’m finally getting myself certified for scuba diving! Actually, I’ve gone diving several times already, two occasions of which I blogged about here and here. But the very first time was at Pearl Farm Beach Resort sometime in the early 90s. I was there for the weekend with friends and I met the resort’s dive [...]

It was in Mindanao that an unfathomably huge case of marine poaching occurred last month. Off the coast of Cotabato, in the Sulu Sea, coral reefs five times the size of Manila were plundered beyond imagination, robbing the Filipino people of natural resources that we’ll most probably never see again in our lifetimes. Precious black coral, endangered sea turtles and other marine life were wantonly destroyed, pillaged for the sake of profit, without thought to the environment or to the consequences to the country’s food security.

Coral reefs are the habitat of a plethora of fish species and other marine flora and fauna. In simpler terms, they are the breeding grounds of the fish that we eat. Without their natural habitats, there’s a danger that the various kinds of fish that we normally see on our dining tables will soon disappear. Already we are noticing a decline in fish catch in recent years — with a burgeoning population, our country will suffer badly if we lose even just one source of sustainable food supply.

To help address this growing issue now called the rape of the ocean, a group of concerned environmentalists, bloggers, divers and IT professionals have formed the Save The Philippine Seas (SPS) movement. It is envisioned to be a long-term advocacy to foster deeper awareness of marine environment issues in order to bring about action.

The first major activity that the SPS team is undertaking is the Blog Action Day: Save Our Seas project. It is an invitation to all bloggers, Facebook and Twitter users, all netizens — to talk about the Philippine seas and the wonders that they contain, to start online conversations so that more people will know about the beauty and importance of coral reefs and other marine life.

The Blog Action Day is set for 8 June 2011, and is tied to the http://savephilippineseas.com website. Please read this article and register via the online form that appears on the site’s sidebar. If you don’t want to register, it’s OK, you can still contribute to the effort — just blog or tweet or plurk about your thoughts about the seas around you!

On Twitter, whenever you post anything about this or any related issue, please use the #reefwatchPH hashtag.

If you would like to participate in the SPS advocacy directly, we are in need of more warm bodies to join the ranks of coral lovers! Do get in touch with me and let’s talk soon.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Edsa Revolution, Davao City joined the nationwide effort to keep the spirit of People Power alive through a “freedom run”, which happened early this morning. The event kicked off simultaneously in Manila (on Edsa, of course), Vigan, Zambales, Clark (Pampanga), Legaspi (Bicol), Cebu City, Dipolog City, Davao City, Zamboanga City, Sultan Kudarat, and Zamboanga Sibugay.

In Davao City, the Takbo Dabawenyo Takbo – Dabawenyo Freedom Run was organized by Holiday Gym & Spa (HGS) and the City Government of Davao, in association with the Mindanao Bloggers Community (MBC) and People’s Action Against Corruption (PAAC). The Davao Freedom Run project was given to PAAC and MBC less than a month before the run date, so it was fortunate that the city was already organizing one. In behalf of all the people behind the nationwide freedom run, we’d like to thank HGS and the Davao LGU for accommodating the Freedom Run and thus joining in the cause to remind Filipinos of the Edsa Revolution and its ideals.

We also want to thank the companies that wholeheartedly supported the event, especially Nature’s Spring Drinking Water, Google Philippines and Chevrolet – Davao. The proceeds of the sponsorship shall be contributed to the nationwide advocacy behind the Freedom Run, and that is to build classrooms for public schools.

It should also be mentioned that the Takbo Dabawenyo Takbo fun run is a campaign to promote a healthy lifestyle among Davaoeños. HGS has been conducting fitness programs in the city for many years now. And the City of Davao has always been in the forefront of health awareness campaigns. Speaking of which, the city is poised to hold its first ever Summer Sports Festival in April. Watch out for more announcements on that!

Hopefully, this won’t be the last Freedom Run. Together with PAAC, the Mindanao Bloggers Community would like to continue holding the fun run to give voice to the motto, “Run for Freedom, Run from Corruption!”

Today, Filipinos celebrate the 25th anniversary of the EDSA REVOLUTION, which brought the Marcos regime to its knees. On 25 February 1986, Filipinos peacefully won freedom from oppression and neglect by the conjugal dictatorship perpetrated by the Marcoses for two decades. Today, Filipinos can be proud of a legacy of revolution by peaceful means through People Power, the force that restored democracy to the Philippines.

(And as if in salute to the 25th anniversary, authoritarian regimes in the Middle East are falling one by one, each one through sheer people power.)

But after 25 years, how far have we really progressed? What has this freedom afforded us in terms of peace, development, unity, progress?

For 25 years we have endured incompetent, spineless, corrupt government officials, who have unconscionably squandered what the people achieved in 1986. We have had good leaders, too, but they were few and far between. We have even witnessed the likes of heroes in our midst, but their voices seem to have been drowned by the din of apathy.

Do young Filipinos, who were born after the Revolution, know why those of us who bore witness to the peaceful uprising are protesting against Ferdinand Marcos being interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani? Do they understand our anguish over the absurdity and audacity of this demand by the family of the deposed dictator? The explanation should be simple: We revolted against, and ousted, an overstaying president, who plundered the national coffers and tyrannized his opponents. And now there are people who want him to be accorded state honors?

And since we’re on the subject of the Marcoses, what about Imelda? She has been convicted by the Supreme Court for crimes against the Filipino people. …What in the world is she still doing unincarcerated? Are we so blind?

Are we, in fact, not responsible for transmitting our history to the next generation? Twenty-five years are an awfully long time to still be at the bottom of the global socio-economic food chain. Maybe it’s because we as a people have such a short institutional memory, that we forget the lessons of the evil past and thus keep getting ourselves mired in it?

We are a free and democratic state today because of our victory on Edsa that fateful February day. We should forever remember this, lest we unwittingly allow a repeat of the Marcos era. We must not forget, because in truth, we are not yet free from the more insidious evils that plague our country. The 21 years in which Marcos ruled the country brought about a pestilence of corruption and greed, and this has kept our country ailing — economically, socially, politically. Even after 25 years, we are still “the sick man of Asia.”

Early this month, a group of politicians, public officials, businessmen, artists, activists, development workers, journalists, educators, from almost all walks of life, from varying backgrounds, religions and cultures, gathered as one in Antipolo City to re-imagine the Philippines. I was fortunate to have been invited to participate in this unique meeting of minds, called reImagine Pilipinas Bukas. We were challenged with this one question: After another 25 years, where do you imagine the Philippines to be?

Nobody expected to arrive at any prophetic answer. But after three days together, the achievement was clear: as one people, unmindful of ethnic, religious or whatever differences, we can again accomplish our common goals through people power. Not the ‘people power’ that was distorted by subsequent so-called popular uprisings. What we need to realize is that the Filipino people is made up of different communities with different belief systems and histories. But we all do call ourselves Filipinos, and we all do aspire for prosperity and well-being. We can start from there, and proceed with the goals in mind and the tenet of People Power in our hearts.

Maligayang bati sa kaarawan ng Rebolusyon sa Edsa! Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

The most underrepresented sector of society is, undoubtedly, the youth. Even though the youth are hailed by many as the future of our country, very few actually take the time to listen to them. On the other hand, one reason for this might be the perceived apathy among the country’s high school and university students. Whichever it may be, all is not lost because there are youth groups around the country who do participate gainfully in society. One of them is Voice of Mindanao (VoM), a youth organization based in Zamboanga City that “not only supports peace advocacy, but encourages the youth to express themselves towards the direction of a peaceful Mindanao.”

VoM is hosting a Mindanao-wide activity aimed at the young men and women of Southern Philippines: a ‘contest’ where the prizes are fulfillment and renewed hope that the national leadership will listen more intently to the voices from the deep South. “Dear P-Noy” is a letter-writing contest open to all youngsters (for the purposes of this activity, 11 to 18 years old) who are living in Mindanao. The letter-writer must express to President Aquino what his/her thoughts or ideas are in terms of making their future a brighter prospect under his presidency.

Please read about the “Dear P-Noy” contest mechanics on the VoM blog.

Take note: the winning letter will be read by the President himself on the 20th of August 2010, during the celebration of Ninoy Aquino’s death anniversary.

I’d like to urge you, dear reader, to encourage your children, nephews / nieces, younger cousins, or any youngster under your care to participate in this worthy undertaking. The whole effort will not only give voice to Mindanao’s calls for peace, development and understanding, it will also teach a valuable lesson to young Mindanaoans. Being part of VoM’s laudable project will teach them about being an active member of society, and about the value of free expression and what it can bring about for their future.

Probably the most gratifying compliment I got after my WordPress talk at the Asian Bloggers & Social Media Conference in Kuala Lumpur last 29 July 2010 was when a gentleman from an English-language training company left me his name card with this message scrawled in: “Great presentation! You sold me on WordPress!”

In fact, the response from the Malaysian participants was very encouraging. It was my first time in Kuala Lumpur, and I had no idea what to expect because the event organizers weren’t able to provide me with a profile of the conference participants. However, I did know that the Malaysian WP community had had a WordCamp already (held on 22 May 2010), and that, to date, WordPress.com is one of the top ten most-visited sites in Malaysia.

I was given only an hour to do my WordPress presentation, so I focused on the fundamentals of Web content publishing. Of course, I also touched on the form and function aspects of WordPress site development. Judging by the amount of feedback I got afterwards, I believe I was able to convince the audience of the power of WordPress when it comes to delivering content online. Although, I did hear this one complaint consistently: that the presentation was too short!

That’s why I’m hoping the couple of offers I got to return to KL will materialize. I’d really love to be able to go back and conduct a more in-depth seminar on content deployment & management via WordPress.

Here’s the link to the presentation I did at KL: Web Publishing with WordPress. I designed this presentation to last 3 hours actually — I’m hoping to do that in KL soon! And below are a few of the photos taken during the conference.

I had a very good time in KL, and it was a fulfilling experience because of the enthusiasm and hunger for knowledge among my fellow WordPress lovers out there. Hopefully I’ll be back again and soon! I’d like to thank the people at My Events International (organizers of the 1st Asian Bloggers & Social Media Conference), and my Malaysian friends who made my stay unforgettable.