FINALLY breaking her silence, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has admitted it is her voice on allegedly wiretapped recordings that that her opponents believe show she rigged the 2004 elections.

In a statement aired live over radio and television, she also apologized for calling a Commission on Election official in the period immediately following the polls.

“I’m sorry,” she said, adding that she also regretted “taking so long to speak before you on this matter.”

read more: Arroyo apologizes but denies election fraud

AN IMPEACHMENT complaint has been filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the House of Representatives, urging the legislature to oust her from office for alleged voter fraud during the 2004 elections.

Arroyo must be removed for “betrayal of public trust arising from the ‘Gloriagate’ tapes,” lawyer Oliver Lozano told local radio after lodging the complaint at the Office of the Secretary General, according to a separate report on GMA Network’s “Flash Report.”

“No politician is behind me,” Lozano said. “I do it for a cause.”

read more: Impeachment case filed vs Arroyo at House of Representatives

People are taking to the streets once again, I heard. A new president, anyone?

Since everything seems to be so chaotic these days in Manila, politics especially, the only thing you can count on is… the weather.
That’s the only thing with any semblance of regularity now. Mornings are clear and sunny, afternoons and early evenings are rainy, occasionally accompanied by lightning and thunder. Since the day after the fete de la musique, this has been true–at least in my neck of the woods.
Weird.

Yet another fire at Greenhills in San Juan. I think this is the third time this year… I don’t think anyone died.

My sister and I were walking to the FX terminal when she asked me, “Ate, do you believe in conspiracy theories?” I just shrugged and said, “Well, they are theories. Thus, there’s no proof.” So anyhow, with the country’s current situation, one can’t help but think of whatever kinds of theories to explain things. I have had a cab driver talk to me about conspiracy theory last Saturday (on the way to Megastrip). The traffic was terrible and he was just thinking aloud while listening to AM radio announcers give updates about the recent controversy on the tapes. And just this morning, my sister posed the question: “Why was Tarongoy released just now?” (News item here.)
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Unless you’re going to the high-end cinemas like Greenbelt 3, PowerPlant or Shangri-la, watching a movie alone is not for the faint of heart.

Okay, I exaggerate.

It’s not that Manila movie houses have a taong-ahas (how do you say it in English? Human crossbred with a snake? Genetically mutated human?) hidden under the floors. Rather, it’s often littered with humans who are under the control of the one-eyed snake they have inside their trousers.

These are the guys you see standing against the walls on either side of the theater, even when there are plenty of available seats. These are the guys who seemed to have a terrible bladder problems; always going in and out of the toilet. These are the guys who can’t seem to sit still, always switching seats from one row to another.

These are the ones who will sit beside you, even if the rest of the row is empty. Once they feel that you’ve acknowledged their presence and don’t mind them there, the fun starts: they’d whip out their thingie.

I’m not kidding. This already happened to me once. The same thing happened again this afternoon, when I watched Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He didn’t have the time to show himself: as soon as he sat down, I stood up and moved to the center of the row. He stood up and left less than a minute after.

As far as I know, they don’t solicit any money for these *ahem* shows. So why do it?

Anyway, if this ever happen to you, just do what I did: move to another seat. If he’s persistent, shout, scream or yell.

Or if you’re like my paranoid friend, threaten him with the small pocket knife you always carry.

It was a rainy last night and I was hanging out with a friend in Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Greenbelt 3. We were talking about all sorts of things and it led to a discussion on sinigang. We ended up getting this hankering for sinigang na salmon sa miso.

And so we walked around, not really sure where to find a place that serves it and one that we could afford. Good thing he remembered that there’s a Via Mare in Greenbelt 1. They didn’t have sinigang na salmon sa miso but they had sinigang ng tyan ng bangus sa miso. Close enough and it wasn’t so expensive at Php 185 which is a bowl of it and rice.

Sinigang is something that is so wonderful to eat! The spicy, sour soup, the fish, the vegetables — always a delicious treat especially on rainy days.

On June 24, 1571, Gobernador-Heneral Miguel Lopez de Legazpi conquered Manila–then called Maynilad–and proclaimed it as capital of the Philippines.

This Friday, the kabisera* celebrates its 434th foundation day with the Manila Film Festival, and a fireworks display.

It is, of course, a declared special non-working holiday–a long weekend for students and employees from the city by the bay. ^.^

Happy 434th, Manila!

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*capital

I have been following Jonas Diego’s series called “A Girl’s Story.” It is already done and you could view the last part of the story here.

I find the story as an eyeopener. Back in college, there were girls that people talk about and say really nasty things like: “Dude, she’s easy… This is what you do…” and you’ll hear a group of people snicker, say an expletive and they end up laughing about it. There are also those moments that rumors circulate within the hallowed halls of the college: “This girl and this guy were sleeping together and the girl was such a …” and more often than not, the girl is labelled as an easy girl, a flirt, a tease, et cetera. There are times when that is true and some of those girls are proud to be labeled as such. Some even flaunt it. But this is not always the case.
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There was a Simpson’s episode years ago called “Simpson Tide” where Bart goes to the mall to get a piercing from “In and Out Piercing” and the place was surrounded by Starbucks. After Bart gets the ear piercing the shop becomes a Starbucks. I am always reminded of that episode whenever I see a new Starbucks being built a block away from another Starbs (as the irreverent but dormant caffeinerush calls it).

I can name 10 Starbs branches in the Makati Central Business District/Ayala Center area alone.

Compared with other places in Metro Manila, I always thought Commonwealth Avenue, one of the longest highways in Manila and definitely the widest, was sorely deprived because it didn’t have a single Starbucks branch on it. Sure, there were a three or four coffee shops in the Don Antonio area, but the mother of all overpriced lattes (latte? latti? cups of latte?) was nowhere to be found.

That was then.

I just found out there’s a brand spanking new Starbucks branch near my house in Don Antonio. It’s on the ground level of a call center building. Even call center employees in far-away Commonwealth are entitled to yuppie trappings, I suppose.

The ordinary bus. That is what we call buses without aircondition units. It’s the buses that often look like they go so fast that your teeth would chatter. Well, I used to take the bus regularly when I was in high school and college but these days, I can’t afford to be late for work.

Yesterday I went to work halfday because it was a holiday and yet I had to be around for the orientation of students. I decided to get on an ordinary bus from Guadalupe to Novaliches. That is one long ride on a regular day and IF it was a regular day, the traffic situation could make things worse.
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