Philippines, a Finalist in the New 7 Wonders of Nature

As of this very moment, while doing this blog entry. There are only

154 days

10 hours

Left to Vote until 11.11.2011

Instead of burning you time over Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking sites; flirting with your fling, chatting with your boyfriend or girlfriend, much worst...STALKING someone you like.

WHY NOT....

Use your time in helping your COUNTRY win something worth winning...

One of our country's prime tourist destination in Palawan islands is one of the 28 FINALISTS for the NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE. Below is the list of the 28 Finalist: 

The UNDERGROUND RIVER in PALAWAN is pitted against such worthy opponents (if we can call such) with the likes of the Grand Canyon in USA, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the famous islands of Maldives. Let us help change the negative connotation that the Philippines is not a safe place to travel. Winning one of the spots in the New 7 Wonders of Nature will surely help the TOURISM industry of the country. If this happens, more influx of tourists will visit the country... As Dick Gordon once said, "TOURISM MEANS JOB". We are not only helping the Tourism industry, but we are also helping the Economy... Anyway, back to the main topic here. 

Below is the Page dedicated to the Phillippines:

So What are you guys waiting for? VOTE NOW!!!

Here is the link: http://www.new7wonders.com/vote-2

The Best Speech Ive Ever Read....

Over the years, I have been a fan of prominent political personalities in the Philippines, of their wit and their wisdom in dealing with things and most of all in presenting their speeches... I have read dozens of speeches from such Filipino's with the likes of:

President Ferdinand Marcos in his Mandate of Greatness Speech wherein he reiterated that:

"This nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my articles of faith, and Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into deeds."

Ninoy Aquino's speech before the Asia Society wherein his very famous line was said:

"Is the Filipino worth suffering, or even dying, for? Is he not a coward who would readily yield to any colonizer, be he foreign or home-grown? Is a Filipino more comfortable under an authoritarian leader because he does not want to be burdened with the freedom of choice? Is he unprepared or, worse, ill-suited for presidential or parliamentary democracy?

I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino and I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nation’s greatest untapped resource

Mr. Marcos: Give us back our freedom or suffer the consequences of your arrogance.”

These people may have already been dead at present together with their idealism, perspectives and beliefs... But their speeches immortalized their being, up to this day we remember them for what they said and what they did....



Of all the speeches that I have read in my entire life... the best for me would be the one by Carlos P. Romulo entitled, "I Am A Filipino". It encompasses the greatness of our race, the struggles, the triumphs and even the downside moments... Reading such masterpiece enriches my mind, but most of all it touches the my very soul that reminds me to love myself and be proud to be a Filipino no matter what happens, I'll always be a Filipino...

Below is the excerpt of the speech that fueled my heart and passion to be a good citizen of this country:

I am a Filipino – inheritor of a glorious past, hostage to the uncertain future.  As such, I must prove equal to a two-fold task – the task of meeting my responsibility to the past, and the task of performing my obligation to the future.

I am sprung from a hardy race – child many generations removed of ancient Malayan pioneers. Across the centuries, the memory comes rushing back to me: of brown-skinned men putting out to sea in ships that were as frail as their hearts were stout.  Over the sea I see them come, borne upon the billowing wave and the whistling wind, carried upon the mighty swell of hope – hope in the free abundance of the new land that was to be their home and their children’s forever.

This is the land they sought and found.  Every inch of shore that their eyes first set upon, every hill and mountain that beckoned to them with a green and purple invitation, every mile of rolling plain that their view encompassed, every river and lake that promised a plentiful living and the fruitfulness of commerce, is a hollowed spot to me.

By the strength of their hearts and hands, by every right of law, human and divine, this land and all the appurtenances thereof – the black and fertile soil, the seas and lakes and rivers teeming with fish, the forests with their inexhaustible wealth in wild and timber, the mountains with their bowels swollen with minerals – the whole of this rich and happy land has been for centuries without number, the land of my fathers.  This land I received in trust from them, and in trust will pass it to my children, and so on until the world is no more.

I am a Filipino. In my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes – seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance.  In my veins yet pulses the same hot blood that sent Lapulapu to battle against the alien foe, that drove Diego Silang and Dagohoy into rebellion against the foreign oppressor,

That seed is immortal.  It is the self-same seed that flowered in the heart of Jose Rizal that morning in Bagumbayan when a volley of shots put an end to all that was mortal of him and made his spirit deathless forever; the same that flowered in the hearts of Bonifacio in Balintawak, of Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, of Antonio Luna at Calumpit, that bloomed in flowers of frustration in the sad heart of Emilio Aguinaldo at Palanan, and yet burst forth royally again in the proud heart of Manuel L. Quezon when he stood at last on the threshold of ancient Malacanang Palace, in the symbolic act of possession and racial vindication.

The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed.  It is the mark of my manhood, the symbol of my dignity as a human being.  Like the seeds that were once buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen many thousands of years ago, it shall grow and flower and bear fruit again.  It is the insigne of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.

I am a Filipino, child of the marriage of the East and the West.  The East, with its languor and mysticism, its passivity and endurance, was my mother, and my sire was the West that came thundering across the seas with the Cross and Sword and the Machine.  I  am of the East, an eager participant in its struggles for liberation from the imperialist yoke.  But I know also that the East must awake from its centuried sleep, shake off the lethargy that has bound its limbs, and start moving where destiny awaits.

For I, too, am of the West, and the vigorous peoples of the West have destroyed forever the peace and quiet that once were ours.  I can  no longer live, a being apart from those whose world now trembles to the roar of bomb and cannon shot.  For no man and no nation is an island, but a part of the main, and there is no longer any East and West – only individuals and nations making those momentous choices that are the hinges upon which history revolves.

At the vanguard of progress in this part of the world I stand – a forlorn figure in the eyes of some, but not one defeated and lost.  For through the thick, interlacing branches of habit and custom above me I have seen the light of the sun, and I know that it is good.  I have seen the light of justice and equality and freedom, my heart has been lifted by the vision of democracy, and I shall not rest until my land and my people shall have been blessed by these, beyond the power of any man or nation to subvert or destroy.

I am a Filipino, and this is my inheritance.  What pledge shall I give that I may prove worthy of my inheritance?  I shall give the pledge that has come ringing down the corridors of the centuries, and its hall be compounded of the joyous cries of my Malayan forebears when they first saw the contours of this land loom before their eyes, of the battle cries that have resounded in every field of combat from Mactan to Tirad Pass, of the voices of my people when they sing:

Land of the morning.

Child of the sun returning . . .

Ne’er shall invaders

Trample thy sacred shore.

Out of the lush green of these seven thousand isles, out of the heart-strings of sixteen million people all vibrating to one song, I shall weave the mighty fabric of my pledge.  Out  of the songs of the farmers at sunrise when they go to labor in the fields; out the sweat of the hard-bitten pioneers in Mal-ig and Koronadal; out of the silent endurance of stevedores at the piers and the ominous grumbling of peasants in Pampanga; out of the first cries of babies newly born and the lullabies that mothers sing; out of crashing of gears and the whine of turbines in the factories; out of the crunch of ploughs upturning the earth; out of the limitless patience of teachers in the classrooms and doctors in the clinics; out of the tramp of soldiers marching, I shall make the pattern of my pledge:

I am a Filipino born of freedom, and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance – for myself and my children’s – forever.

“The Rise of the Masses, The Fall of the Elites”

Since I have been blogging about music, food, love for the past few days... Now, I thought of blogging about my first love which is Politics... Philippine politics per se as the focal point... anyway, for this blog I would like to discuss about Marx ideology on the role of masses and elites in a certain nation. I remember writing about this when I was still in College. So here it is:


The ouster of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada by people power or known as Edsa I & II are manifestations on the idea that a class struggle will be successful mainly because elite capitalism has become far too unstable due to the increasingly powerful masses. It is evident, that Filipino masses increase in their numbers due to a creation of industry which led smaller businesses and low wage workers joining each other in equality and without difference. What made them more powerful is the fact that these people are aided by newfound industrial and political education, the increasingly stronger working class forms the majority of the population that is necessary for a successful political movement. Here in the country, the rise of the masses is seen through out the years, most especially seen and felt during the Marcos regime. Along with this, the fall of the elites and the consequent win of the masses is inevitable. During the 1998 elections, Joseph Estrada ran for the Presidency of the Philippines and he won landslide even if he was against a powerful foe named Jose de Venecia who has a machinery throughout the archipelago. What made Erap win? It is because of his tagline which is “Erap para sa Mahirap”. He portrayed himself as being one with the masses; he depicted an image that is marketable to the masses. The masses believed it, they supported and voted for him because they thought that Erap was the savior and the protector of the mass interests. Months after he took seat from office, different issues lambasted his administration. Issues such as graft and corruption, abuse of power or any typical elitist concern. The Philippine economy was in shambles, it was unstable and worst of all stagnant. The majority of the populace was starving and hungry, they were oppressed by the situation, they were suffering. The so-called “savior and protector” of the masses left them and turn his back from the masses. With this scenario, people were clinging for change, asking for a transformation and most of all crying for a revolution! The revolution happened again in the historic Edsa Shrine. The people mostly the masses gathered in huge groups, showed their force and power, brought their moorings in the street and toppled the Estrada Administration! The problem is now solved for a short time because the masses did not foresee that the new leader that they have chosen is somewhat the same or even worst than that of Estrada. Because of their clamor for change, it somehow blinded them that Gloria Arroyo is another Erap Estrada. What Arroyo did during this time is to get the trust of the people, and she did at first. She depicted herself as the hope that the masses have been looking and waiting for. She made everyone believe that she is the change that the revolution yielded. During those times we were standing at the exact same point like where we were in the Estrada Administration. So the question is, what will the masses do? Are they ready for another social and political revolution? Or are they tired and old of it? As we can see, our history is based on what the middle class and the masses does or do. Like for example, during the Spanish-Filipino war the masses in the leadership of Andres Bonifacio fought for their freedom and liberty. They were successful and then came a new society in the arms of the Americans. Another example is what happened during the Edsa 1 revolution when the masses demonstrated their force and power in the streets that led to the downfall of a very powerful dictator. With these examples including the demise of Erap’s administration, we can see that the course of history is changed and influenced with what the middle class and the masses execute. Our history is in accordance to what these people decide to do. They are the majority, they have the capability, they are the real authors of our history. They have power over the elites but the problem is that, they don’t know how to use it, they don’t know when and some don’t know that they have what it takes to overthrow or overpower those elites that made them suffered and abused their rights for freedom, democracy and a life that is liberated from any prejudices. Now, we have a new President... New Administration... A President from a Powerful Political ELITE family... What will the Masses do? Whats next for them? Lets soon find out...

Regine Velasquez - The Diva, The Icon, The Asia's Songbird

Hindi ko maitatanggi ang malaking paghanga ko sa pinakamagaling na mangaawit na nabuhay sa buong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, si Regine Velasquez. Siya din ay tinuturing kong isa sa pinakamagaling, pinakasikat at higit sa lahat pinakahinahangaan sa Asya at sa buong Mundo. Ang taglay niyang galing sa pagawit ay maikokompera sa mga pinagmamalaking mangaawit ng iba't ibang bansa at rehiyon sa mundo. Tulad ni Mariah Carey na tinaguriang "one of the world's best selling music artist" , si Celine Dion at ang legendary Whitney Houston. Marahil maraming hindi sasangayon sa mga sinabi at sinambit ko tungkol kay Regine Velasquez... Marahil maraming magsasabi kung sino ba naman ako para ilahad na si Regine ang pinakamagaling, na siya ang pinakasikat at pinakahinahangaan. Marami sa inyo ang magsasabi na dahil ako ay di hamak na isang tagahanga lamang kaya nasasabi ko ang mga ito. Maaring tama kayo, ngunit maaring tama din ako. Kung ito'y pagdedebatihan ay marahil inabot pa tayo ng isang linggo't mahigit.

Kaya para sa ikakatahimik ng lahat ng nagbabasa at taga-subaybay ng aking blog. Labis na mas maganda siguro kung mismong galing sa mga eksperto sa sining at musika ang paglalahad kung ano ba ang tingin nila sa talento ni Regine Velasquez.

                                                                  (photo from: titikpilipino.com)

1. Maestro Michel Legrand

Una sa listahan ay si Maestro Michel Legrand (sino daw?). Marami sa inyo ang hindi nakakakilala kay Maestro Legrand, siya ay mat 13 Oscar nominations - tatlo dito ay napanalo niya, may 5 Grammy award at nominado din sa Emmy's. Mga kilalalang komposisyon niya ay ang Papa Don't Preach, Windmills of Your Mind, Yentl, at marami pa. So, ano naman ang opinyon niya ukol sa talento ni Regine?

“Its tough to sing a song after Barbra Streisand, I will tell you…But to sing with Regine is, I'm in heaven..She sings so well…she has such an extraordinary technical voice…and sensitive voice and talented expression.”

"The first time I heard her sing, I said to myself, 'what the hell? I owe it to the rest of the world to introduce this voice to them'. She is the voice with both the range and the heart - which is like none I've ever heard of in my entire career."

"I am very privileged to have performed with this very talented lady here. And each time Regine sings my songs, I couldnt help but say she sings the best versions. I just never heard my songs sound so well."

2. Bryan McKnight

Sino ba naman ang di makakakilala sa kanya? Mga nagpasikat ng kantang Back at One, One Last Cry, Love is, Love of my Life, 6 8 12, My kind of girl at marami pang iba. Siya ay may 16 Grammy Nominations at MTV awardee din.

 “I have to tell you..I have worked with a lot of people, and you’re.. I have to put you right up the top of the list of the most talented people I have worked with...”

"I feel like the luckiest man in the planet to be able to sing with such an incredible talent. "

When asked who his favorite Filipino artist is, McKnight answers without skipping a beat. "My favorite's Regine. Regine must be one of the greatest singers that I've heard anywhere. She can hold her own next to anyone. I doubt that anybody would want to come behind her after she sings." (AsianJournal)

3. Peabo Bryson

Isang Grammy award winner na nakatambalan ni Celine Dion sa kanta niyang "Beauty and the Beast". Pinasikat din niya ang awiting If Ever You're in My Arms Again, A Whole New World, Tonight I Celebrate My Love, Without You. 

“And I must say that this maybe the only female vocalist in the world who can rival Celine Dion.”

4. Jeffery Osbourne

Isang Amerikanong R&B singer at kompositor na nagpasikat ng mga awiting On the Wings of Love, I Really Dont Need No Light, Stay With Me Tonight. Siya ang sumulat ng awiting All at Once na inawit ni Whitney Houston noon.

"SHE HAS A BEAUTIFUL VOICE, MAN-A BEAUTIFUL VOICE.."

5. David Kozzz

Isang Jazz artist na nagpasikat ng awiting CARELESS WHISPER.

 “How about this round of applause for this incredible voice! I never heard that song sounding great. Thank you so much!”

6. Mandy Moore

Kailangan ko pa ba ipakilala si Mandy Moore? Mangaawit na nagpasikat ng Cry, Crush, In my Pocket, Only Hope, Can we still be friends, Have a Little Faith in me, I Wanna Be with you. Siya din ay lumabas sa mga pelikulang Walk to Remember, Chasing Liberty, Saved, American Dreamz, The Princess Diaries at marami pang iba.

Regine sang "Cry" with Mandy at the MTV Asia Awards. Mandy wrote on her official website "Along with hosting the whole MTV Awards show with Ronan Keating in Asia, I  performed "Cry." It was so great because I thought it would really surprise  people when the biggest pop star in Asia, Regine Velasquez, joined me to sing the song as well. The crowd went crazy and she and I really got along. She was so sweet and had learned the whole song by the time we arrived in Singapore. She has an amazing voice and actually won the award for Favorite Female.

7. Jacky Cheung

Marahil marami din sa inyo ang di nakakakilala kay Jacky Cheung. Siya ang pinakatanyag at kilalang singer sa buong Asya. Maraming nakamit na awards sa Asya pati nadin sa Amerika at Europe. Mahigit kumulang 60 million records sold ang albums niya making him the highest record selling Asian Artist.

"She was eating (pizza), something which I never did when I try to record a song. That was very amazing to me. That was the first time I ever did a duet with any artist. She has a very talented mind and gifted voice."

(Clarence Hui interviewed Jackie from the March 2002 #37 issue of Cashflow Magazine... )

You have worked with many female singers now including Priscilla (Chan), Shirley (Kwan) - Let's face it, almost every Polygram artist at that time. Sandy (Lam) and Kit (Chan), in your musical, Snow, Wolf, Lake. If you had to choose, who would you say was the most memorable?

  "I would have to say Regine (Velasquez). Her singing is totally awesome. But it isn't just her technique. Yes, she has an excellent range, etc, but it wasn't until I was actually in the studio to hear her record the song that I realized just how good she is. The way she used her voice, and how she rendered every note and phrase left me speechless. I just stood there wondering, "How am I going to match this, or compliment it to do it justice?" It was that serious, but also that wonderful."

8.  Coco Lee

Nagiisang Asian Singer na may tatlong number 1 singles sa MTV Asia. Tinaguriang isa sa 50 Most Powerful People in Asia sabi ng Asia Weekly. Naging singing voice ni Mulan sa Mandarin version ng nasabing pelikula. Nagpasikat ng awiting Do You Want my Love at Before I Fall in Love hanggo sa pelikulang Runaway Bride.

                                                             Photo: songbirdsource.blogspot.com

9. David Archuleta

American Idol Season 7 First Runner Up. Nagpasikat ng mga awiting Crush, A Little Too Not Over You, Somebody Out There, Angels, Elevator, My Kind of Perfect at marami pa...

“I’ve heard that there are a lot of amazing singers from the Philippines.” “My favorite is Regine Velasquez. She was actually the one who got me to be an even bigger fan of Mariah Carey because she was singing all those Mariah Carey songs that I’ve never heard before. ‘Wow.’ I said, ‘Regine is so good; she’s amazing’.’”

Hmm.. She isn’t like my idol or anything haha, but I do really like her voice! She’s an amazing singer.” WALLACE Huo: he said that he likes regine's songs on SOP he even kissed her on her face.

10. Wallace Huo

Siya ay isang Taiwanese Singer at Actor. Kilala siya sa Sound of Colors na pinalabas sa Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and Japan.

 He said that he likes regine's songs on SOP he even kissed her on her face.

11.  Nathaniel Flatt (V Factory)

Siya ay miyembro ng sikat ng pop and r&b band na V Factory. Kung saan nominado ang grupo nila bilang favorite band/group sa StarShine Music Awards. 

He shared that he once danced at a show for Regine Velasquez in LA, and is in awe of the Filipina diva’s singing voice. (http://manilaconcertscene.blogspot.c...ival-hits.html/)

                                                      photo from: summerr-in-the-shower.blogspot.com

12. Duane Russell Ho

Siya ay kabilang sa Top Ten ng Singapore Idol na humahanga ng malaki kay Regine. Sa kanyang blog ay matatagpuan ang katanungang ito:

Who is your favourite Asian person? Regine Velasquez (omg she is so pretty!)

13. Lea Salonga

Kilala sa pagganap bilang Kim sa award winning play na Miss Saigon. Siya din ang gumanap na Cinderella sa Asian tour ng nasabing palabas. Lumabas din sa Les Miserables at marami pang broadway shows. Si Lea ang naging singing voice ni Princess Jasmine sa Aladdin at Mulan sa Mulan I and Mulan II. Isa siyang Tony and Olivier Awardee.

“Local singers known for performing in this (belting) style are regine velasquez…although I have to give her props for exploring the quieter, more soothing aspects of her range.” “Truth be told, I sometimes envy the biriters PIPES OF STEEL; The heights that their voices can reach and the physical stamina that their efforts require

"I love her voice.. it's very clean, very soothing, but at the same time very powerful. And that (vocal) range, what a magnificent range! So amazing."

                                              photo from: http://www.abante-tonite.com/issue/oct1809

14. Charice 

Youtube sensation turned International Sensation kung saan lumabas sa maraming shows sa US tulad ng Ellen De Generes, Oprah, Good Morning America, at iba pa. Nakihalubilo din sa maraming sikat na international singers tulad nila Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Usher at iba pa. Lumalabas siya sa hit tv series na Glee.

When asked about, How does she feel about performing with Asia's Songbird?

"Nagkaron po siya ng concert sa Long Beach [California]. Talagang hindi po ako nanonood ng concert pero kapag big fan po talaga ako ng isang artist, pumupunta po ako.

" She's already a legend and everybody idolizes her including my mother Raquel "Kaye" Relucio Pempengco. My mommy has bought almost all of Ate Regine's CDs and tapes and watched her videos. She's a sweet person. Not many people know that she's actually a shy person. Her voice is so powerful - sweet but powerful. Before our trip to Los Angeles last February, Ate Regine invited me to dinner at her home and cooked carbonara for us. She's an amazingly good cook, too!'

"Ah, well, you see, I always say to those who ask: it is only Ms Regine whom I had not sang a duet with of all my favorite singers…"

Hindi lang din sila ang mga international star na nakatrabaho ni Regine sa kanyang career, marami pa. Ilan pa dito ay sina:

15. 98 Degrees

Regine sang their song "Hardest Thing" with the group on SOP when they were at the Philippines. The band was amazed @ Regine's vocal dynamics. They told her that they had one of her albums.

16. Ronan Keating

Ronan stopped by the Philippines for the promo tour of his new album on 2001 and did a duet with Regine with his song "When You Say Nothing At All". Another memorable performance.

                                                             photo: http://www.reginemultimedia.com

17. David Hasselhoff (Baywatch, America's Got Talent, Click)

They Recorded a song together entitled, "More Than Words Can Say". Shot in Malibu.

                                                           photo: http://www.reginemultimedia.com

18. Fernando Carillo ( Fernando Jose sa Rosalinda) 

Regine and Fernando re-recorded Regine's revival hit "IKAW" and performed it live on his major concert in the Philippines as well. He also said in a youtube video clip that his favorite is Regine. 

19. Paul Anka 

Nagpasikat ng mga awiting Diana, Lonely Boy, You are my Destiny at Put Your Head on My Shoulder.

Recorded a song with Regine, "It's Hard To Say Goodbye". Regine's original
duet with Paul Anka "It's hard to say goodbye" was re-recorded by none other than CELINE DION. 

20.  Remus Choy (Grasshopper)

Collaborated with Regine on her RETRO album on the song "I Can't Help It"

21. Norman Brown

Sang "The Closer I Get To You" with Regine.

 

22. Jim Brickman

Jim Brickman became an instant fan with Regine's rendition of his compositions Your Love, By Heart, and My Valentine. in their concert with Ariel Rivera and The Company and promised to write a song for her. 

23. Stephen Bishop

Sang "Separate Lives" with Regine in SOP.

Ilan lang sila sa mga humahanga sa kagalingan ng nagiisang Asia's Songbird na si Regine Velasquez. Abangan ang part two ng blog ko tungkol dito! Salamat! =)

What's wrong my Philippines?

We actually observe the same things, the never ending hypocrisy of the Filipino people, both from the elites and the masses... a circus of blind and selfish clowns... a theater of good performers... an avenue of evil.. a huge waste of time, a tiring scenario.. will it ever end? how? when? i dont know... as much as i dont want to loose my faith and hope for this country... i honestly say that sadly, im beginning to shatter and breakdown... does it mean that i'm afraid of accepting the fact that hope and faith is not part of the equation? is it hard for me to accept the reality that the country that i am fighting for is not fighting beside me? that the country i'm fighting for aims towards the opposite of my journey for a better philippines? I hope not.. I dont want to feel sorry and regret fighting for my heritage, my countrymen and most of all my being a Filipino...