PERA SA BASURA (para-paraang dagdag-kita)

 Dagdag-kita ng mga taxi driver (P50 bawat isa)

Pila ng taxi sa kahabaan ng Regalado Avenue, tapat halos ng FEU Hospital sa Fairview, Quezon City. Dapit-hapon. Normal ang eksena. Mga pasaherong isa-isang sumasakay sa taxi. kalabog ng pintuan ng mga sasakyan, barker na nagtatawag ng mga pasahero at buga ng usok ng mga humahareurot na makinang papunta sa patutungtuhan.

Ordinaryong larawan ng araw-araw na pakikibaka sa buhay, Yun ang aking inakala. Hindi pala. Sa likod ng pila at huntahan ng mga taxi drivers, may kakaiba akong napansin. Dalawang taxi driver na may hawak na gunting at kulay berdeng plastik ng Mountain Dew softdrink. kulay neon green.

Mabilis, parang kisapmata ang gupit ng gunting sa plastik ng softfrink. Pinopormang dahon, sanga at kalauna'y isang halaman ang bawat bote na mahawakan ng dalawa. Sa bandang puno ng disenyong halaman ay lalagyan ng barya. Ang produkto ay inilalagay ng mga driver sa dashboard ng kanilang taxi bilang display at lalagyan ng barya.

Ayon kay Mang Estong Pastrana, isa sa dalawang gumagawa ng naturang produkto, anim na buwan na nila itong ginagawa bilang pandagdag kita lalo na kung matumal ang kanilang pasada. Sa 300 na miyembro ng Roadrunners Taxi Drivers Association sa Fairview, anim na drivers ang kumikita ng extra sa pagawa ng naturang display.

Dalawang piso bawat bote ng plastik ang bili ng mga drivers, Kinse pesos naman ang isang balot ng mga mumunting plastic ng bulaklak at paru-paro na idinidikit nila sa mga dahon at sanga ng display. P25 hanggang P50 ang bentahan sa bawat produkto. May kamahalan kung tutuusin, ngunit ang panahon at dedikasyon na ginugugol nina Mang Estong sa paggawa nito ay hindi matutumbasan ng salapi.

Biyahera;: Bakit nyo po naisipang gumawa ng ganyang produkto?

Mang Estong:Kasi no choice kami. Mahirap kasi ang biyahe ngayon

Biyahera: Ilan kayong gumagawa nyan?

Mang Estong: Anim po kami. Lahat ,mga taxi drivers.

Biyahera: sinu-sino po ang bumibili ng gawa nyo?

Mang Estong: Karamihan ho taxi drivers. Yung iba, mga pribadong tao. Minsan yung mga pasahero, binibili nila yung display doon mismo sa taxi. Binebenta po ng driver ng mataas. Yung P50 na bili nila samin, pinatutubuan nila ng P50. Bale, isang daan ang benta nila kapag nagustuhan ng pasahero. Tapos, yung driver, bibili ulit samin. Gumugulong ang pera.

Biyahera: Ilan po ang nagagawa nyo sa isang araw?

Mang Estong: Minsan lima, anim. depende kung medyo matumal ang biyahe.

Biyahera: Mula po nung umpisahan nyong gawin itong mga halamang display na yari sa plastik, magkano na po ang kinita nyo?

Mang Estong: Nakapagbenta na po ako ng mga halagang P20,000. Napakalaking tulong na po sa aking pamilya ng benta namin. Yung pang-ulam at pambili ng bigas sa araw-araw, solve na.

Biyahera: Yung kita nyo po ba sa pagbebenta ay napupunta sa pondo ng asosasyon?

Mang Estong: Hindi po, sarili na naming diskarte ito.Kumikita na, nakakatulong pa kami sa kalikasan kasi ginagawa naming pang-display yung mga plastik na patapon na.

Yan si Mang Estong, Yan ang Pinoy. May sipag at determinasyon. Hahanap at hahanap ng paraan para mabuhay ng marangal ang pamilya.

Mang Estong: oo nga pala ma'am, yung mga gawa namin, umiilaw yan kapag madilim.

  

 

'you have to, in any way 

trust in the human spirit

and human ingenuity' 

-Ariel Garten

BANZAI ( japan on a plate and more)

 BANZAI, MOA by the bay

It is the Land of the Rising Sun on a plate, 'as long as you can eat plates. in fact. It is everything authentic. It is everything Japanese.

Banzai, the great Teppanyaki Theater is the newest buffet restaurant to hit Mall of Asia by the bay. It is a great addition to the earlier buffet crazes, Vikings and Buffet 101. Banzai is a lot more cheaper, and a bit easier to navigate more than the other competitors.

Dubbed as the biggest of its kind in the world, with a floor area of 1,200 square meters  and 500 seating capacity, Banzai is the newest addition to actor and chef Marvin Agustin's line of restaurants. The erstwhile child actor and Jolina Magdangal's former love interest is now etching his name as one of the country's  successful restauranteurs. His string of more than 40 restos includes Marciano's,  Cafe Ten Titas, John and Yoko, Oyster Boy, and Sumo Sam to name a few. Not bad for a young lad who grew up without the guidance of his father and who at 16, waited tables at Tia Maria's until he got a scholarship from his bosses that saw him through culinary school.

Banzai, co-owned by Agustin's friend Ricky Laudico is a class of its own. Agustin and his partners left nothing to chance, even transporting to the country three Japanese master chefs to stamp the authenticity of the place.

Chef Hiroshi Isikawa lords over the Teppanyaki section, Chef Norimasa Masuda is the master of the sushi counter while Chef Kiminori Iwabuchi is in charge of the ramen station

Japanese foodies are in for a great dining experience with Banzai's wide array of choices at the teppanyaki, sushi and sashimi, pizza, noodles and ramen, tempura and tonkatsu, pasta, roast, dessert and drinks station. An experience that is made more memorable by the restaurant's lanterns brought in from Japan, the fun photo station, the artworks, the ninja and geisha district murals, and just the serenity of the place.

The price is very affordable. Way below the other buffet restaurants' price tag. But don't get too excited putting anything on your plate that you can't eat. Leftovers wiould easily cost you over P1,000 per person.

Hail to the likes of Agustin who never stop dreaming and making things happen. The ones who believe in good food and making it accessible to food lovers or just plain curious eaters.

Long live. Banzai!

Domo Arigato.

 the drinks station

lanterns are flown in from Japan

 of geisha's and other artworks

 The master chefs. bearers of good taste

shushis and sashimis

 for starters

roast to perfection

 japan! japan!

Marvin Agustin, making things happen 

biyahera's turn-a-sumo-wrestlin'

'authentic values are those by which a life can live,

which can form a people that produces 

great thoughts and deeds'

-Allan Bloom

 

SOFA @ the SONA ( state of fashion at the state of the nation address)

 Ladies of the senate with Sen. Grace Poe voted by netizens 

as 'most fashionable' at this year's SONA

(Photo by Celestino Sicat)

Yeah! Yeah! We all probably know what the State of the Nation Address (SONA) is all about. It is nothing but reporting of the government's accomplishments (or so it seems). It's like a report card with grades of  90% above or 60% below, depending on who's talking, analyzing and perceiving.

It is also the best reason to suspend classes in Quezon City where the Batasang Pambansa, the home of the SONA is located. It is battling a battalion of anti-government protesters and being creative about their sentiments through songs, statement shirts and colors.

And for the one delivering the SONA, it is about being 'you can't help but be emotional' when everything is not okay anymore, when the trust in your administration is dwindling and your mission and vision is already marred with negativity and defensiveness. You have to choke in between speeches to make it authentically so. Emotions caught on camera especially of a presidential sister and perennial drama queen is very difficult to shrug off and brush off your shoulder.

But then the SONA is also about glam and showing off. Of luxury cars vying for attention when lawmakers and dignitaries alight at the main entrance of the House of Representatives leading to the plenary hall. 

Most of all (for the red carpet yuppies and style addicts) , it is about the creativity, the genius and the global fashion sense of our very own designers to show off their creations donned by the SONA attendees themselves.

SONA would be nothing without who's who in fashion. 

You've got to be seen. Somehow.

Well, tell it to the priests and some  hungry stomachs.

The President on his 4th SONA

(photo by www.remate.ph)

 QC Mayor Bautista came in 'Krisless'

(photo by Joy Zaragoza)

Presidential sister Kris Aquino, 'dateless' @ the SONA

(photo by GMAnews)

 a lady and the men, dapper in their barongs

(photo by ASC CommsGroup)

Sen. Sonny Angara & wife w/ Interaksyon's Ernie reyes

(photo by Ernie Reyes)

 Mother & son. Sen. Cynthia Villar with son Rep. Mark Villar

(photo by Dulce Morales)

 Love is in the air. Vista Land heir & Rep. Mark Villar with rumored fiancee', fellow lawmaker DIWA Party List Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, daughter of 

former PNP Chief Edgardo Aglipay 

(photo by Jun Desca)

 Sen. Chiz Escudero and Heart Evangelista
wedding bells a-ringing
(photo by NPPA)

Richard loves Lucy, always a sight to behold
(photo by NPPA)

 Madame Imelda Marcos w/ HOR's Media Staff Joy Zaragoza

 Mommy D. 'Pacmom' is in the house

(photo by Marie Lozano of ABS-CBN)

Anti-Pnoy lawmakers in peach. 

They walked out on Pnoy and joined the protesters outside Congress

(photo by Joy Zaragoza)

 Sen. Alan and Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano. 

 wearing a serpentina pleated bodice lavender gown 

made of gazar silk by ONIN PAGSISIHAN, 

a taguig fashion designer

(photo by ASC Commsgroup)

        The future generation of Philippine politics. 

        scions of a Marcos and a Legarda-Leviste 

(photo by Josephine Codilla)

 That would be biyahera in between breaks

(photo by ASC Commsgroup)

Biyahera and friends' turn a photo-shootin'

(photo by cherry dacanay)

'style is knowing who you are, 

what you want to say,

and not giving a damn'

-orson welles

...OF BIG BIRDS CRASHING DOWN (and so many lives lost)

 Eye of the storm ( Glenda ravaging a great part of the Philippine archipelago)

July 2014, the worst time of the world's aviation industry. In just a span of seventeen days, four airplanes carrying passengers of different races met their fatal end and went down in the most horrible way of passing through the great beyond.

July 7. A Vietnamese military chopper doing a parachute training mission crashed near Hanoi, 15 minutes after it took off. 18 passengers perished.

July 17. Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down by a missile while cruising on the war-torn part of Ukraine. The Boeing 777 was carrying 298 passengers on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nobody survived.

July 23: A TransAsia Airways flight did not make it to safety when it crashed to a residential area in Magong, Taiwan while attempting for an emergency landing due to Hurricane Matmo. Of the 58 passengers, 47 died in the fatal crash.

July 24: Air Algerie flight 5017 lost it's radar contact due to  bad weather about an hour after it took off from Burkina Faso to Algiers. The wreckage was found in the Mali dessert.  All 116 on board died.

July 15: Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport. An Air Asia Zest Flight  Z2-320 braved Typhoon Glenda even if the other airlines have already cancelled all the flights to typhoon-hit areas. The plane took off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 (T4) at exactly 6:00am. The other passengers of the cancelled flights decided to take the Zest Air flight just to make it to Tacloban. I was one of them.

The flight was very bumpy and turbulent all throughout. Understandably so because we were cruising at Typhoon Glenda's path that was then ravaging Bicol and the rest of Visayas. It was like being enveloped in a colossal mass of fog and blurriness from the time we took off until we arrived to our destination that nearly we were not able to make.

The plane made it's first attempt to land. From my seat (1D), I could faintly see Dio Island, a sign that we are already nearing and circling the airport. I heard the landing gear released for touchdown but then, a sudden tilt of the plane and an abrupt  soaring maneuver. It was like being sucked up by a strong current. I felt it, so bad I did not notice that we did not make a landing. The landing gear did not even touch the runway.The sight sent the people on the ground gasping for breath and praying for mercy. 

After a good 10 minutes or so, again, I saw Dio island from my window. Fear creeped in. I know something happened. But then, the plane successfully land on its second attempt. A rousing applause from the waiting families and friends on the ground.I was told by a photojournalist assigned at the airport that there was jubilation and clapping all over. The ordeal was over. The pilot safely maneuvered the plane to landing.

A foreigner helping out on the Yolanda rehab in Tacloban and Eastern Visayas made a sign of the cross as we landed. Asked at the airport about the flight, he stated a matter of factly that it was 'a miracle'.

A miracle indeed. I later learned that we were already hitting the middle of the runway when the plane first attempted to land. We could have end up and crashed to the sea if it was not for the pilot's presence of mind and quick judgment.

Kudos to the pilot and the crew. But then again, they should have cancelled the trip just like what the other airlines did.

Looking back, I regretted taking the trip.

The fear, the goosebumps, the haunting faces of loved ones, of lives that could have perished, and the smell...that stinky and putrid smell of death, the flight was not worth it. 

It is never worth laying your life when faced with great danger and uncertainty. 

It is never worth being included in a tragedy list.

One should never, ever  take a risk. 

 Plane photos by Mel Caspe of Remate

'The road of life twists and turns

and no two directions are the same

yet our lessons come from the journey

not the destination'

-Don Williams Jr.