Down with the flu

It's not meningo, but I'm down with the flu. Medyo nahihilo ako...

I Thought It Happened in PMA

I thought the controversial video tape was shot inside the PMA. It just happens that the Major, whose name -- Ferdinand Ramos -- is a combination of the names of two former Philippine presidents, is a PMA alumnus (1988). And he was known to be gay earlier on, according to a TV interview. That was not an issue, but using his power to gain sexual favors is another thing.

"If he is simply gay, that might be fine. But if he uses this (homosexuality) to (commit) conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, that's another thing," Senga said. [source]

Read the Sassy Lawyer's article: The controversial Philippine army

From the GMA 7 website:

IMBESTIGADOR: THE ARMY SEX SCANDAL
November 20, 2004 Episode

The military has always been a stronghold of masculinity and machismo. This is true especially in the Philippines, where the macho culture is strong. The military has been portrayed as a macho institution; its gates closed to gays.

This Saturday, Imbestigador airs an explosive story that may puncture the image of the military as an all-man, all-straight, testosterone-driven force.

Imbestigador stumbled upon the story when a former army recruit approached its Action Center and complained of sexual harrasment by an Army Major. The major has been in-charge of recruits and allegedly uses his position to coerce these young men to sleep with him. The Major also videotapes and takes photographs of these encounters. The Major also keeps a rented apartment outside the Army boot camp, where his recruits join him for a night of an entirely different kind of “training.”

Also this week, Imbestigador features a former congressman who refuses to turn over thirteen heavy construction equipment belonging to the Dept. of Public Works and Highways. The former lawmaker’s intransigence has caused public works in the province to grind to a halt. This has added to the burden of poor farmers who have long been hoping for well-paved farm-to-market roads.

Imbestigador, hosted by Mike Enriquez, airs every Saturday at 8:30PM on GMA-7.

Baguio Safe from Meningococcemia

Well, I'm still alive. But why is it that most of those who died were confined at the SLU Hospital? Were there others who attended the wake and were confined elsewhere but are OK now? Just wondering.

There’s no cause for alarm.

The Department of Health (DOH) gave this assurance yesterday over the outbreak of meningococcemia, a highly contagious disease, in Baguio City, saying everything is "under control."

Since Nov. 6, the disease has killed five people from Barangays Dominican Hill, San Carlos, Irisan and Camp 7.

Health experts have traced the outbreak to a 41-year-old male resident of Mirador Hills, who died of the illness on Nov. 6.

The four others who subsequently got infected were among those who reportedly attended his wake.

City tourism officer Benedicto Alambra, however, admitted that news about the disease has, indeed, led to some cancellations of hotel bookings.

Caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococcemia is transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets. [source]

Since October, 18 suspected cases of meningo coccemia have been reported. Health authorities confirmed a surge of cases in the Cordillera Administrative Region. Three more patients are being treated in a Baguio hospital.

Five of those who died came from Baguio, while the others were from other areas. The first case of meningo coccemia was first reported in the region last October 3. The Department of Health said 18 patients suspected to be afflicted with the disease were admitted to four major CAR hospitals since last month. So far, 12 cases have been reported in Baguio, four in La Trinidad, Benguet and two in Itogon, also in Benguet. [source]

Wish List: Phone

Nokia 7710

Power Interruption

A city-wide power failure was experienced in Baguio today, for about 12 hours. And for that, I wasn't able to blog! Last night I couldn't post at Blogger. Tough luck.

Blogging for Mulawin

I never thought somebody besides me will be reading what I blog about Mulawin.

Update: [November 7, 2004]
After helping other visitors to set up the Mulawin Network, traffic to my site decreased. The Mulawin Network blog is now No.1 and my blog is only No. 4 at Yahoo.