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These Philippine govt. officials !

The stories below probably explain why the Philippine government is in the shape that it's in now !!!

In case you haven't read this, it is too good not to be passed on to all. Enjoy !!!

A friend has been a Travel Agent for 30 Years. She says her 30 years of taking reservation requests from government officials explains why we are all in trouble.

Here's a few choice reservation questions from these bright people:

1) Senator Tessie Oreta asked for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

2) I got a call from ex-Mayor Joey Marquez, who wanted to go to Capetown. Explaining the length of the flight and passport information, he interrupted me with, 'I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. ' Without trying to make him look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, ' Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa .' His response.... (click).

3) Congressman Mark Lapid called, furious about a Florida package we did for him and tv star Kris Aquino. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that was not possible since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!' (so he expected to see the ocean on both sides of the hotel !)

4) Sen. Ralph Recto's wife (actress Vilma Santos) asked, 'Is it possible to see England from Canada ?' I said, 'No.' She said, 'But they look so close on the map.'

5) Senator Lito Lapid asked if he could rent a car in Dallas . I noticed he had only an hour lay-over in Dallas . When asked why he wanted to rent a car, he said, 'I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between the gates to save time.'

6) Senator Jinggoy Estrada (son of Erap) called last week. He needed to know how it was possible that his flight from Detroit left at 8:20 a.m. and got into Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but he could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told him the plane went very fast, and he bought that !

7) Congressman Ronaldo Zamora asked, 'Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?' I said, 'No, why do you ask?' He replied, 'Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight. I think that is very rude!' I looked into it and explained the city code for Fresno, California is (FAT), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage.

8) Former presidential candidate, now tv star Eddie Gil inquired about a trip package to Hawaii .. After going over all the cost info, he asked, 'Would it be cheaper to fly to California and take the train to Hawaii?'

9) I just got off the phone with Senator Bong Revilla who asked, 'How do I know which plane to get on?' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, 'I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them.'

10) VP Noli De Castro asked, 'I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, FL. Do I have to get on one of those twin engine planes?' I asked if he meant to fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane. He said, 'Yeah, whatever!'

11) Congressman Dilangalen called and had a question about the documents needed to fly to China . I reminded him he needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.' I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this, he said, 'Look, I've been to China four times and everytime they accepted my American Express !'

12) Senator Miriam Defensor called to make reservations, 'I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .' The agent said, 'Are you sure that's the name of the town?' 'Yes, what flights do you have?' replied the lady. After some searching, the agent came back with, 'I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere.' The lady retorted, 'Oh, don't be silly ! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!' The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, 'You don't mean Buffalo , do you?' 'That's it ! I knew it was a big animal,' she said.

Now you know why the Philippine Government is in the shape that it's in now.'

No wonder we are in a mess !

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS !!!

From my inbox. Too amusing not to share. :-)

First and foremost, I admit it. I am a fan of Manny Pacquiao the boxer. Whatever you say, Pacquiao has to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world today, and he has proved it many times over, the last time via a scintillating victory over the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya.

But I have never been a fan of Manny Pacquiao the person. Take away the impressive boxing skills, the millions of dollars/pesos of winnings/endorsements/earnings, and you don't really get much left.

I wasn't really surprised when I heard the news that Pacquiao jumped shipped over to ABS-CBN with regard to the rights to air his succeeding fights, starting with the match with Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton scheduled to take place this May 2.

For one, he has never really struck me as a man of his word.

It doesn't seem to bother him that he has an existing contract with Solar Sports lasting until May 2011. He also has an exclusive contract with GMA, which, in essence, prohibits him from appearing on other networks. Despite this, he has jumped ship to GMA's main rival, ABS-CBN.

This really isn't the first time that Pacquiao exhibited a seeming inability to live up to his commitments. A couple of years ago he signed contracts with two promoters, Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, leading to a tug-of-war of sorts between the two promotional outfits.

What is it with this person anyway? He signs contracts, accepts huge sums of money, then turns his back on his commitments.

According to the grapevine, he opted out of Solar Sports because it failed to pay him P60M in fees accruing from his last fight with Oscar De La Hoya on time. It was also reported that he wanted ABS-CBN to cover his congressional run in 2010 because allegedly "ABS-CBN has a better signal in Sarangani". Even if true, it doesn't seem to justify entering into a contract with another entity when he still has a valid and subsisting contract with another for what amounts to be the same subject. He should first terminate his prior contracts before entering into another. If there was a breach and he felt aggrieved, he should have given notice first to the other party.

And now he (and ABS-CBN) are facing a P150M lawsuit from Solar Sports. A pittance perhaps, compared to the totality of his earnings, but it doesn't really speak well of his integrity.

Frankly, I don't really give a damn which network airs his fights. Regardless of whichever network airs his fights, I would have known the outcome hours before via the internet because local airings tend to be extremely delayed and filled to the brim with tons of commercials. Pacquiao could win via first round knockout and you would only be able to watch it several hours later due to the huge volume of advertising.

Secondly, I don't really care to watch Pacquiao if he's not wearing trunks and boxing gloves and beating up some hapless Mexican or other. So what if he appears on this show or that show? Pacquiao was never an actor to begin with, cashing in only on his fame to appear on primetime television.

But I grew up knowing and believing that a man's word was his bond. If you say something, mean it. If you promise to do something, do it. It's simply of matter of honor. I guess it's different with him.

I never really liked the way he turned his victories, which should be a matter of national pride, into political sideshows by snubbing victory parades and parties hosted and organized by the City of Manila in favor of events organized by the current Mayor's former political rival who is now the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Yes, I understand that utang na loob or gratitude has something to do with it, but to alienate what amounts to be an entire city, the nation's capital at that, to let himself be used as a political tool just because of politics is something which escapes my comprehension.

I have also never liked it when people think they can do anything simply because they're rich or famous. Like when he decided to record an album, or run for Congress, or delay a flight just because he's a VIP.

And now, he's bent on winning a seat in Congress in 2010. What gave him the idea that he would be a good legislator? Does he really believe he has what it takes to author laws or engage in debates? If he really wanted to help people, why not run for Mayor or any other local office instead?

I'm inclined to think that there are only two reasons why the ruling party bothered to recruit him at all...his money, and his fame.

Whether he runs for Congress or City Hall or whatever, Pacquiao has shown to us that 1) He doesn't know how to keep his word; and 2) He's always out looking for a better deal. These are the two traits that I really don't want to see in any politician. Ironically, it may also be these two traits that make him a shoo-in for whatever post he chooses to run for.

Just some friendly advice, though I doubt it if he needs it. He can't box forever. And money doesn't last forever either. At the end of the day, what will matter most is how he is as a person. And so far, he isn't looking all that great.

I still hope he wins against Hatton though. Despite everything, this country can still use a hero. As a boxer, he certainly deserves our adulation. As anything else...well, that's up to you.

Found this in my inbox. I can't vouch for it's veracity, but it makes for an interesting read. To be honest, while some claims are at the very least plausible, I sincerely doubt it if the World Bank would actually be going around sending anonymous emails. :-)

THIS IS VERY HUMILIATING STORY.............. I DONT KNOW HOW TO BELIEVE BUT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTRY.

To All Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs):

The Financial Analyst of World Bank would like to inform each and everyone of you that the present currency exchange rate of US Dollar to Peso is actually $1 = 52 pesos. Your government is manipulating the exchange rate for some years now. It is very much improbable and impossible that the Philippine Peso is appreciating compare to Euro, British Pound, Rials, and any other foreign currency. Even your ASEAN neighboring countries are suffering from the Global Crisis. Singapore , a developed country is affected by depreciation of their currency what more of your country?

We admire you for your hard work but we also pity you for having such a very corrupt government that is taking advantage of your hard earned money. The ARROYO ADMINISTRATION is blatantly milking each and every OFWs all over the world of billions of pesos for its own greedy, selfish ends. Investigations reveal that this milked money from OFWs will be spent to BRIBE not only PGMA's pet COCODILES in CONGRESS but some in the SENATE as well for her to PERPETUATE IN POWER BEYOND 2010. The rest would be deposited to the family's SECRET ACCOUNT in Switzerland . Another money-making scheme is the LOTTERY DRAWS. Filipinos should be aware that all LOTTO DRAWS are orchestrated, and big money goes to the two sons of the lady president. Recent example is the SUPER LOTTO 6/49 draw, where supposedly two individuals from Luzon won. Do you know WHO these individuals are? It's Mikey and Datu, who else? One might ask how could the draw be rigged when it is being televised in front of millions of viewers. The answer is simple. As you all know, all bet combinations are being entered into PCSO's main data base as it is on-line, therefore, it is easy to determine which combinations were NOT betted upon. If they want to raise big money, no winners will be declared until the JACKPOT reaches sky-high because they could dictate the outcome at will. When it's "HARVEST TIME", viola, there would be "winner or winners" and the process repeats all over again. One might ask how this is being done. One insider told our investigators that actually the "DRAWN BALLS", six balls to be exact, are the only set which could fit into the transparent tube which sucks the balls up. All others are slightly bigger than the diameter of the tube which could not be distinguished by the viewers, therefore, there's no way they could be drawn!

You Filipinos are being skinned alive, fried in your own fat and lard by your own government. Do you ever wonder why president-elect BARACK OBAMA, avoids your president like a stinking leper?

-World Bank

I first read this article two days ago in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Let's just say I was appalled and amused by what I read.

Here are some excerpts:

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is challenging computer hackers to take a crack at the software that will be used in the 2010 elections to prove that the system is secure from fraud and tampering.

The system isn't even in place with the bidding still in its early stages, yet the COMELEC is already arrogant enough to claim that their system is "hack-proof". I've got news for them. There is no system that is "hack-proof".

The list of high-profile institutions which have been hacked in the past include the CIA, the FBI, NASA, the FAA, and various other foreign utilities, even a travel site used by U.S. government agencies. Indian government sites have been subject to cyber-vandalism as well. It probably goes without saying that these entities are in all likelihood light-years ahead of our own COMELEC in using and securing information technology, and yet they have been victimized by hackers.

Is the COMELEC really that IT-savvy that it is cocky enough to think that its system (that's not even in place yet) is really impervious to intrusions? I don't think so. And yet they are goading hackers to try and break into it. If it were a private system I really wouldn't care, but it's a system for what amounts to be the entire electoral system of the country. It is not far fetched to think that some unscrupulous hacker, possibly someone from somewhere outside this country, will take up the challenge "just for kicks" and for the right to brag in cyberspace that he or she has brought down the electoral system of some third world country. Hell I would. Of course, I have scruples.

“By the time a hacker gets into our system, the election is over,” Comelec Executive Director Jose Tolentino boldly declared Monday in a press briefing.

Manipulating election results is not the only reason to hack into the COMELEC's election system. It's possible you can obtain confidential voter information, identify the candidates a voter voted for, or get election results ahead of everyone else. This information could conceivably be valuable for some. And even if the elections were over, manipulating the election results, even if detected, could erode whatever confidence the public may have in their system, thus lowering the credibility of the electoral process as a whole, assuming of course, that there's at least some credibility to begin with.

Programmers and the general public can also scrutinize the source code of the company that will bag the P11.3-billion automation contract for the 2010 national elections.

The source code refers to the set of programs that carries the system’s instructions.

“The winning bidder’s software, the source code, will be open to inspection by the public,” Tolentino told reporters.

“They can look at it line by line to ensure that there is no malicious program inside,” he said.

If I were a hacker dead-set on breaking in the COMELEC's election system, viewing the source code would actually be a bonanza because it will give me an opportunity of identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system. Frankly, I think it's a bad idea to open the source code to the general public. If they want to prove that the program doesn't have any malicious code, they should just have it examined and certified by a reputable third-party software firm, a non-governmental agency, or an international body. A non-disclosure agreement should be standard, regardless of whichever entity examines the program.

The Comelec will also open the system and the machines to “ethical hackers” or IT experts who would be allowed by the agency to test the system.

“Then there are those who might try to hack the system without telling us. That’s OK. We are open to that,” he said.

It seems to me that they want the automated election system to fail this early on. Hardly any effort seems to be exerted in maintaining the security and confidentiality of the system. If you want the system tested for weaknesses and vulnerabilities, give the job to firms qualified to do so and make them sign non-disclosure agreements as well.

Doubting the Comelec’s readiness to fully automate by May 2010, former Comelec Chair Christian Monsod earlier warned that “software specialists” would now take on the dirty job previously carried out manually by unscrupulous poll personnel and political operatives.

I agree. The COMELEC is even giving these "software specialists" the heads up by showing them the in and outs of the system this early in the game.

For added security, the source code of the chosen system will be stored “in escrow” at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), he added.

Frankly, what would be the point, after you have disclosed the source code line-by-line to the public? Well, at least no one gets to tamper with it. Then again, you really don't have to have physical access to the source code to tamper with the system if you're really bent on modifying it.

The Comelec will release the TOR documents, priced at $20,000 per set, on March 18.

It's amusing that the COMELEC is 100% confident with success of the election system, when basically all they have to show for is a set of specifications (the TOR, or Terms of Reference) and not the finished product.

I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly brimming with confidence with the way the COMELEC is handling the automation of the 2010 elections. While I would like to think that they are indeed sincere in their objective of keeping the elections honest, at the back of my mind I still can't help but think that they are in over the heads, considering that none of them seem to really understand the technology or even how to properly use it.

Well, let's see what happens.