IDEVAW 2014 - Engr Fidela Salvador

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women or IDEVAW.

1. In Baguio City today, 24 November 2014, the Alliance of indigenous women's organization in the Cordillera commemorates the quest for justice for Engr. Fidela "Delle" Salvador who was brutally killed by the 41st IB in Lacub, Abra on 5 September 2014.
2. On 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 as the annual date of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in commemoration of the death of the three Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic.
3. This day also marked the beginning of a 16-day period of Activism against Gender Violence. The end of the 16 days, on 10 December, is noted as International Human Rights Day. 
4. The Mirabal Sisters who are also known as Las Mariposas or The Butterflies are the four Dominican sisters who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, three of whom were assassinated on 25 November 1960. Their assassination turned them into "symbols of both popular and feminist resistance". After their assasination, they were then known as the "Unforgettable Butterflies".
5. Patricia Mercedes Mirabal (born on 27 February 1924) was famous for saying "We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we have to fight against it, and I am willing to give up everything, including my life if necessary".
6. Minerva Argentina Mirabal (born on 12 March 1926) was famous for saying "....it is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes, it is sad to stay with one's arms crossed..."
7. Maria Teresa Mirabal (born on 15 October 1935) Maria was famous for saying ".....perhaps what we have most near is death, but that idea does not frighten me, we shall continue to fight for that which is just.."
8. Like the Mirabal sisters, Engr. Fidela "Delle" Salvador is also an Unforgettable Butterfly who was a courageous woman who worked selflessly in the area of Lacub, Abra for project monitoring activity being the independent consultant of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services and who was killed during the pursuit operation of the state armed forces against the New People's Army.
9. Engr. Salvador, 50 years old, and a mother of three children is a consultant of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services Inc. (CorDisRDS) and the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC). She was on a monitoring visit for various socio-economic projects implemented by CorDiSRDS and CDPC in Lacub, Abra when she was killed by the AFP in their operations. Engr. Fidela B. Salvador is a committed development worker, a Project Consultant, a civilian and a non combatant; and not a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) as claimed by the AFP.
10. On 6 September 2014, Engr. Salvador’s body along with the dead body of another civilian, Lacub resident Noel Viste, was airlifted by the AFP from their Bantugo military camp in Lacub to the Barbarit, Lagangilang, military camp. Attendants of the Pineda Funeral Homes fetched and brought them to the Pineda Funeral Homes in Bangued where her body was identified by the staff of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) on the evening of 6 September 2014.
11. The killing of Engr. Delle is the latest extra-judicial killing perpetrated against an environmental advocate, specifically a disaster responder. A total of 77 environmental advocates have been killed since 2001, of which 39 killings occurred under the administration of Pres. Noynoy Aquino.
12. With Engr. Delle’s death, there are now seven (7) disaster responders that have been killed under the Aquino government, including humanitarian workers, disaster survivors, and grassroots disaster responders.

Below is just an excerpt from http://pinoyweekly.org/new/?p=31841 

The autopsy report was released on 18 September 2014. Prior to this, a case conference with Dr. Ronald Bandonill was held on September 15. Here he discussed salient points of his examination of Engr. Fidela’s body.

The report states that, Engr. Salvador’s cause of death is described as:

+HYPOVOLEMIC SHOCK secondary to GUNSHOT WOUNDS, POSTERIOR TRUNK AREA+
+BLUNT TRAUMATIC INJURY, BACK OF THE HEAD, Contributory+.

Nine bullets entered the body of Engr. Fidela. The damage they brought to her vital organs (heart and lungs) might have killed her instantaneously. But the finding that the blunt traumatic injury (comminuted fracture–meaning skull broken into particles) at back of her head as contributory cause of death, and the contusions, massive lacerations, massive hematoma, among the significant findings of the autopsy painted a scenario that directly questioned the validity of the AFP claim that she was killed in an encounter.

It pointed to the possibility of torture.

An officer of the legal department of PNP-Abra also stated that the 41st IB did not submit a report on Engr. Delle to the SOCO (Scene of the Crime Officer). Yet they had in their possession her ID – a photo of which is posted in their social media page.
- See more at: http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2014/10/letter-quest-for-justice-for-engr-delle-bugarin-salvador/#sthash.1wFPMhfp.dpuf

Front of pamphlet given during the IDEVAW 2014 celebration

Back of pamphlet given during the IDEVAW 2014 celebration

References:

fidela salvador
CDPC-DEFEND! Statement: Justice for Engr. Fidela Salvador
NGO worker Delle Salvador is killed in Lacub, Cordillera
LETTER | Quest for Justice for Engr. Delle Bugarin Salvador
Justice for Engr. Delle Salvador and all Disaster Responders at Risk!
September 24, 2014 URGENT CALL TO STOP THE AFP OPERATIONS IN LACUB, ABRA
Last Surviving Mirabal Sister, Doña Dede, Dead at 88
Mirabal Sisters of The Dominican Republic
The Murder of the Mirabal Sisters: Flashback 1960
Mirabal sisters

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Today is the 150th birthday of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

1. Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa was born in Albi, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, the firstborn child of Comte Alphonse and Comtesse Adele de Toulouse-Lautrec.
2. Henri's parents, the Comte and Comtesse, were first cousins (Henri's two grandmothers were sisters) and Henri suffered from congenital health conditions sometimes attributed to a family history of inbreeding.
3. At age twelve Toulouse-Lautrec broke his left leg and at fourteen his right leg and the bones did not heal properly, and his legs ceased to grow. The post-Impressionist, whose legs stopped growing when he was a child so that he grew to a height of 1.54m (5ft 1in), was one of the most celebrated characters of La Belle Epoque.
4. Deprived of the physical life that a normal body would have permitted, Toulouse-Lautrec lived completely for his art. Lautrec's physical appearance contributed to his suffering from alcoholism, and he's thought to have invented the notorious cocktail "Earthquake" - 3 parts Absinthe, 3 parts Cognac, over ice. 
5. The bright green and alarmingly potent spirit Absinthe became the creative fuel for the bohemian artists of the day. It became known as "the queen of poisons", favoured by Lautrec, Picasso and van Gogh.
6. In his 20-year art career, Toulouse-Lautrec was exceptionally prolific, creating 737 canvases, 275 watercolours, 363 prints and posters and at least 5,084 drawings - as well as ceramic and stained glass work.
7. "The Laundress" is the painting that set a new record when Christie's auction house sold it in 2005 for $22.4m.
8. Actress Marcelle Lender was a favourite subject of Toulouse-Lautrec, who had a passion for theatre in all forms.
9. The young Pablo Picasso imitated Toulouse-Lautrec when he first visited Paris and in fact, Toulouse-Lautrec influenced Picasso’s concept of art throughout his career.
10. “A favourite model was a red-haired prostitute called Rosa la Rouge from whom he allegedly contracted syphilis.”
11. An alcoholic for most of his adult life, Toulouse-Lautrec was placed in a sanatorium (also spelled sanitorium and sanitarium) after a particularly violent bout of delerium tremens in 1889 shortly before his death. He recovered and was released, but died in 1901 from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the age of 34 at the family estate in Malrome, fewer than three months before his 37th birthday. He is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few kilometers from the Chateau of Malrome, where he died.
12. Toulouse-Lautrec's last words reportedly were: "Le vieux con!" ("Old fool!")

References:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec Biography
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec: Google celebrates 150th anniversary of French artist's birth
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec [French Post-Impressionist Painter and Printmaker, 1864-1901]
Why Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is much more than Google Doodle’s poster boy
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: The French painter's 10 most famous works and facts about his life

Universal Children's Day

1. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, promotes and coordinates this special day for international children, which also works towards improving children's welfare and lives all over the globe.
2. By resolution 836(IX) of 14 December 1954, the General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children.
3. The General Assembly recommended that the Day was to be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. 
4. The Assembly suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date and in the way which each considers appropriate. 
5. On 20 November 1958 the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
6. The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989.
7. The Convention on the Rights of the Child can be downloaded on this link: http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/participation/CRC-C-GC-12.pdf
8. UNICEF is dedicated to meeting the six of eight goals that apply to the needs of children so that they are all entitled to basic rights written in the 1989 international human rights treaty.
9. In September 2012, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations led the initiative for the education of children.
10. Universal Children's Day is not simply a day to celebrate children for who they are, but to bring awareness to children around the globe that have succumbed to violence in forms of abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
11. The International Labour Organization in 1999 adopted the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour including slavery, child prostitution and child pornography.
12. Canada co-chaired the World Summit for children in 1990 and in 2002 the United Nations reaffirmed the commitment to complete the agenda of the 1990 World Summit.

References:

Universal Children's Day 20 November
Children's Day
Universal Children's Day 2014: 6 Fun Facts; 10 Quotes and Wishes to Take Inspiration From
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD Fifty-first session Geneva, 25 May-12 June 2009

question and answer # one 🙋

How many 12-letter arrangements can you form from the letters of the word "COMPUTER" if repetition of letters is allowed? 

12 Thoughts From An Unexpected Visit

We had an unexpected visit from a missionary today, 18 November 2014, in our office. She was Sister Lilia Gonzales-Pre, a lay missionary who encourages everyone to have a deep devotion to the Divine Mercy.

She did an spiritual talk to us and we did enjoyed, learned and had an spiritual enlightenment and spiritual healing. There are some things I have learned and tried to remembered during her very simple yet profound talk.

YAGIT KA

For most people, yagit means mahirap. To God, most of us are YAGIT. People don't want to be yagit or experience being yagit. People do not want to be in pain, to be hurt or to be poor. Ayaw ng taong maging mahirap o mahirapan.

Then she expounded on these letters. These are included on the 12 things that caught my attention.

1. Y - Yabang | "alisin ang yabang" People who are boastful have this motto: "I know everything and they do nothing."
2. A - Api | "okay lang ang inaapi dahil kakampi mo ang Diyos". Vengeance is God's alone.
3. G - Galit | "alisin ang galit dahil ang galit ang kadalasang pinagmumulang ng sakit"
4. I - Inggit | "huwag maiinggit dahil ito ay nagdudulot ng galit lalo na sa mga gustong maging pangit."
5. T - Tapang | "huwag masyadong matapang dahil maraming namamatay sa sobrang katapangan lalo kung wala sa lugar" "pwede mo ring sabihin kapag hinahamon ka ng ganito:"hindi ako katalo, pero malapit ka na (while pointing your hand to the ground which figuratively means that you are closer to the demon or the devil's act is upon you)
6. T - (another meaning of T) Takaw | "huwag maging matakaw"
7. Ka - Kakuriputan | "huwag pairalin ang kakuriputan at pati ang sarili ay pinagdadamutan pa o pinagkakaitan pa ang sarili"
8. Love your parents. Mahalin mo ang iyong mga magulang.
9. Love your parents-in-law too because without them you will never knew your wife or husband whom you are loving. Isampit mo na rin ang iyong mga biyenan dahil kung hindi dahil sa kanila hindi mo mapapangasawa ang iyong asawa na iyong minamahal. 
10. Give money to your parents. Bigyan mo ng pera ang iyong mga magulang. Do not go home with free hand. Always bring or buy something even small to your parents. 
11. Magpatawad. Kapatawaran. Forgive. Learn to forgive.
12. Bayaran mo (na) ang iyong mga utang. Pay your debts (already). "Eh wala pa naman akong pambayad." If there's a will, there's a way. Kailangang bayaran mo ang mga utang mo dahil ang perang inutang mo ay pinaghirapan din ng taong inutangan mo. Ang taong walang utang, deretso kung maglakad. Ang taong may utang, paliko-liko kung maglakad dahil kapag nakita na ang pinagkaka-utangan sa kanan, iwas sa kaliwa at kapag sa kaliwa naman nakita, iwas naman sa kanan. Mahirap mamatay ng may mga utang. 

Sister Lilia also mentioned that she had a vision two days before a tsunami and earthquake devastated parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other places.

Later, on her closing remarks and after the "healing" part, she told us to always pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary by praying the Rosary every day. We should also pray to the Holy Spirit for spiritual guidance and enlightenment. Also, we need to pray to the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph because he is the patron of the dying.

She also recommended to attend 9 consecutive First Friday Masses starting December 5.

In return for this spiritual talk, I bought a copy of her CD to aid her in her missionary works in my own little way. 

Front of the CD

Back of the CD

Note: For spiritual talk, healing and counseling: Please contact Sis. Lilia Pre

Mobile No. 09198413544

I tried to search for a few references in the internet about her and I only found one.

Song to the Divine Mercy 

For the tsunami and earthquake, the references are:

Why Didn’t the Tsunami Hit Singapore & Australia? 
Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast
11 Facts About the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
2004: Thousands die in Asian tsunami

12 Akimbo Alternatives

I started listening to the audiobook "Steve Jobs: Biography" using Akimbo audiobook player and I had a chance to view this 12 alternative for this audiobook.

1. Ambling BookPlayer Pro
2. Listen Audiobook Player
3. MortPlayer Audio Books
4. Smart AudioBook Player
5. OverDrive Media Console
6. Donation for my apps
7. Astro Player (old)
8. Ginkgo Audio Book Player
9. Audiobook Player 2
10. LibriVox Audio Books Free
11. Ambling BookPlayer Lite
12. MortPlayer Widgets

References:

12 Best Alternatives to Akimbo Audiobook Player (android) | AppCrawlr

12 Metropolitan Areas of the Philippines

Last 5-6 November 2014, the first tourism summit for BLISTT was held in Baguio City. BLISTT is among the 12 metropolitan areas in the Philippines as identified by NEDA or National Economic and Development Authority.

The 12 metropolitan areas of the Philippines as identified by NEDA are:

1. Metro Manila

• Manila
• Caloocan
• Las Piñas
• Makati
• Malabon
• Mandaluyong
• Marikina
• Muntinlupa
• Navotas
• Parañaque
• Pasay
• Pasig
• Pateros
• Quezon City
• San Juan
• Taguig
• Valenzuela

2. Metro Cebu

• Cebu City
• Carcar
• Compostela
• Consolacion
• Cordova
• Danao City
• Lapu-Lapu City
• Liloan
• Mandaue City
• Minglanilla
• Naga
• San Fernando
• Talisay City

3. Metro Davao

• Davao City
• Digos City
• Panabo City
• Island Garden City of Samal
• Santa Cruz
• Tagum City

4. Metro Cagayan de Oro

• Cagayan de Oro City
• Alubijid
• Baungon
• Claveria
• El Salvador
• Gitagum
• Jasaan
• Laguindingan
• Libona
• Malitbog
• Manolo Fortich
• Opol
• Sumilao
• Tagoloan
• Talakag

5. Metro Angeles

• Angeles City
• Bacolor
• Mabalacat
• Porac
• San Fernando City

6. Metro Iloilo-Guimaras

• Iloilo City
• Guimaras Province
• Leganes
• Oton
• Pavia
• San Miguel
• Santa Barbara

7. Metro Bacolod

• Bacolod City
• Silay City
• Talisay City

8. Metro Naga

• Naga City
• Bombon
• Bula
• Calabanga
• Camaligan
• Canaman
• Gainza
• Magarao
• Milaor
• Minalabac
• Ocampo
• Pamplona
• Pasacao
• Pili
• San Fernando

9. BLISTT

• Baguio City
• Itogon
• La Trinidad
• Sablan
• Tuba
• Tublay

10. Metro Batangas

• Batangas City
• Bauan
• San Pascual

11. CAMADA

• Dagupan City
• Calasiao
• Mangaldan

12. Metro Olongapo

• Olongapo City
• Subic

References:

Metro Baguio 
Why BLISTT?
Philippine Metropolitan Areas 
Cities of the Philippines 
The 12 Metropolitan Areas of the Philippines 
NEDA 

Plastic

Plastic Bags

We had an opportunity to purchased several groceries from a Sari Sari Store Bonanza event which was on its 4th year already. It was a jam-packed event but there really were so much savings most especially for store owners.

Upon arriving at home, what caught my attention was one of the plastic bag that was used for one of the items we bought.

Here are 12 interesting things printed in the photo below.

SAVE EARTH USE PLASTIC BAGS

Photo taken using my own Starmobile Turbo phone.

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC BAGS ARE:

1. Recyclable
2. Reusable
3. Degradable
4. Non Toxic
5. Saves Water
6. Saves Trees
7. Affordable
8. Lesser Landfill Space
9. Convertible to Gasoline & Diesel
10. Does not cause GLOBAL WARMING
11. The above Claims are SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN.
12. DO NOT be misled by false accusations made by those without SCIENTIFIC PROOF.

By: PPIA (Philippine Plastic Industry Association)


I am not against the use of paper bags especially for groceries but plastic bags are really practical especially for wet market items.

Regarding saving earth, upon analyzing it thoroughly, the use of plastics really saves a lot of trees from being cut in contrast to the number of fallen trees used for paper production.

Also, at this age of information technology, we should be promoting "PAPERLESS" system especially for our documents. This is off-topic already and we do still need papers among other things which need not be listed here.

We cannot really stop the production of plastics as well as the production of papers. For environmental purposes, it is really just a matter of proper disposal of garbage which includes segregation. Waste management is a big issue and plastics are just a fraction of it because wastes also includes papers, steels, human wastes among other things.

HELP SAVE EARTH BY PROMOTING CORRECT WASTE MANAGEMENT.

And yes, at home, we do practice segregation of plastics, papers, bottles, cans and residuals. It is our way of contributing in helping our Mother Earth.

References:

List of Waste Types
Rethink ban on plastics: association 
Plastics manufacturers cut down production amid ban

Goodreads Alternatives

1. LibraryThing -
2. Shelfari -
3. weRead
4. The Reading Room - 
5. Libib -
6. Booklamp -
7. Reader2 -
8. Anobii -
9. Riffle Books -
10. BookLikes - 
11. Thirdscribe -
12. Slice Bookshelf -

References:

12 Alternatives to Goodreads

Carlos Garcia

1. His full name is Carlos Polistico Garcia. 
2. He was born in Talibon, Bohol on 4 November 1896.
3. He died from a fatal heart attack at the age of 74 on 14 June 1971.
4. He was a lawyer, poet, teacher and a guerrilla leader too. 
5. He was the vice president of Magsaysay and Secretary of Foreign Affairs for 4 years.
6. He became the 8th President of the Philippines and 4th President of the Third Republic (18 March 1957 -  30 December 1961) when Magsaysay died in 1957.
7. He was famous for his Filipino First Policy. 
8. He established the Austerity Program focusing on Filipino trade and commerce. 
9. He was one of the founders of the Association for Southeast Asia in 1963 wwhich is now called Association for Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. 
10. He was known as the "Prince of Visayan Poets" and the "bard from Bohol". 
11. Cultural arts was revived during his term. 
12. He became the first layman to lie in state at the Manila Cathedral which is an honour previously reserved for deceased Archbishops of Manila and the first president to have his remains buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. 

References:

TAGALOG  LANG -  Filipino Presidents  -  Biography and Accomplishments 
Achievements of president Carlos Garcia 
Presidents of the Philippines and their Achievements and Contributions 
Carlos P. Garcia