I just came from a rather interesting dinner-blogger session with Quezon City Vice-Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista. The session heated up quickly since we immediately dove into the major pressing issue which was Mike Defensor’s allegations of 30% of his budget being used for “food and drinks”. I’ll write a piece on Herbert either later tonight or tomorrow morning. For now, let me re-post a video of Herbert answering Mike on an ANC show hosted by Karen Davila. So, what do you guys think?

I gave a talk during the recently concluded Blog World Philippines 2010. As I was getting ready for my talk, I said hellos and hi’s to the other speakers. The two guys at the far end of the table looked really nervous and anxious. Little did I know that these two guys are actually Filipino millionaire bloggers. The entire room’s attention was literally focused on them when the emcee started to introduce them. Apparently these guys are some of the best Search Engine Optimization experts in the world and they’ve made more than P15,000,000 on blogging. Yes, you read that right. FIFTEEN...

Pulse Asia released a survey last week which showed that Noynoy Aquino is pulling away from Manny Villar. However the following week two other surveys showed that the two candidates were still locked in a statistical tie. In the latest survey commissioned by BusinessWorld, both of them are still pretty much in the running on almost equal footing. The other candidates though registered gains. Not that big but still it’s a sign that the voting public is slowly realizing that it’s not just a Aquino-Villar election. Source Brother Eddie is steadily moving up; albeit at a snail’s...

Eversince Mike Defensor raised his concerns and issues against Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista during his blogger event, I’ve been trying to organize and set-up another event with Vice-Mayor Bistek so he can answer and clarify the allegations thrown by his rival for the Mayoralty of Quezon City. I’m very happy to let everyone know that someone from his staff and one of his personal friends have confirmed that we will be having a blogger dinner/lunch with the Vice-Mayor. herbert’s appointment secretary is still working on his schedule. rest assured that the meeting with bloggers will...

I’ve been a “corporate slave” for well over 6 years now. One of the things I hate the most is seeing the amount of money deducted from my monthly salary due to the withholding tax (around 30%). This money goes to the Philippine government and they basically decide how to spend that money to benefit the Filipino people. I wouldn’t mind seeing that money go into road development or to pay for the salaries of our police, military, and teachers. What I don’t understand is why we should be paying for condoms and pills which are being distributed right now by the Department...

A few weeks ago, an article started to circulate around e-mail and social networks. It was an article supposedly written by Winnie Monsod and it pretty much laid out a bunch of reasons why she will vote for Liberal Party standard bearer, Noynoy Aquino. I was able to read the article myself but I was a bit curious if this was really Winnie since it lacked her trademark substance and facts. This article was really more emotional – something that’s not Winnie’s style of writing. In her latest article posted on Inquirer.net, Winnie Monsod clears everything up by saying that she wasn’t...

I read an article written by former Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas at the ABS-CBN website. She explains in her article that the supply of Filipino nurses has skyrocketed while the demand has actually gone down. Not only that, it’s really hard for a nurse these days to go abroad and become an OFW because of the requirements of foreign hospitals. 2 Years Experience Requirement The requirement of foreign hospitals is that nurses should have at least 2 years of experience. The problem is that fresh graduates of Nursing will have a very difficult time trying to find local employment because the...

Jovit Baldivino is a 16-year old high school student from Batangas who wowed the country with his stellar performance of “Faithfully” during the auditions for Pilipinas Got Talent. I was just able to watch him yesterday and this guy makes me think of a younger and shyer version of Arnel Pineda. He has the voice but he definitely needs to work on his showmanship and stage presence but this is something that he can improve as the months go by. Anyway, enough talk on my part. Watch him perform in the video clip below. JOVIT BALDIVINO – PILIPINAS GOT TALENT My only complaint is...

(Author’s Note: This is a new category in Juan Country. Every now and then I’ll be posting blogs on recent trips to various locations around the Philippines. Something light and fun to read. Good break from political commentary!) Last Saturday morning we went to Anvaya Cove Beach and Nature Resort in Bataan/Zambales for the romantic wedding proposal of my good friends Bu and Lyka. Other than witnessing one of the most memorable proposals, we were also treated to a whole day at Anvaya. As most of you know, Anvaya Cove is a very strict resort that usually just allows members. It’s...

(Author’s Note: Latest news article from Inquirer.Net says that there’s no need to worry anymore. Thank God.) An 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile’s second most populated city and this has sent ripples all over the world. Not just because the disaster struck another country, but it looks like this earthquake was so powerful that there’s a big chance that Tsunamis will be hitting countries all over the Pacific! And yes, that includes the Philippines. Barely a few months after surviving Ondoy, there’s a chance that we’ll actually be flooded big time once again...