Juan Country Travel Journals: Anvaya Cove

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Carlo Ople

(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 developed by Ayala Land and it’s really more for the A and Upper B crowd. The entire resort is just gorgeous and it makes you want to wish that you had money to buy a membership so you can go back to this paradise again and again… and again.

The Proposal
The plan was that we would fix the place up (advance party) so that when Bu and Lyka arrived, everything would be already okay. We left Manila around 5:00AM. We had a short stop over at a gas station at NLEX, had breakfast, and it took us around 3 hours total to get to Anvaya Cove. The guys set-up a “WILL YOU MARRY ME” thingy in the sand using my fiancee’s arnis sticks and all of our slippers to spell out Lyka’s name. This turned out to be a big mistake on our part since the sand was so hot during noontime, haha.

Anyway, after setting everything up (including chairs, tables, etc.), we all relaxed and waited. After an hour or so, Bu and Lyka arrived with their friends. Lyka was blindfolded and brought to the beach. Her friends then took off her blindfold and she saw Bu kneeling on the sand with the ring *cue the waterworks – start crying!*. Lyka said yes and we all had a good time celebrating the entire afternoon.

Anvaya
Anvaya Cove has a giant sprawling multi-pool set-up at the middle of the resort. It has several jacuzzi like areas with mini-fountains making it one of the most stunningly beautiful pools I’ve ever seen. There are also rattan (at least I think they’re rattan) beach lounge chairs scattered all over which you can use to lay down to relax or take a nap. After the pool is the actual beach which has beautiful sand which I was told was imported. A nice touch that I found really cool was that they scattered several drinking stations all over the beach and resort. It always had ice cool water which you can drink (for free).

There are so many things you can do in Anvaya including a newly launched Spa. They even have a game room which you can play PS3, XBOX, Wii, and board games. What I found weird though was their library. I never really went inside but I can’t imagine myself spending time there, haha.

Oh… to all you internet addicted folk, they have Wi-Fi. ALL OVER THE BEACH. Whut. Hahaha!

The Legendary Anvaya Burger
Pastor Larry Uy, who was our host, told me about the Anvaya Burger. I didn’t try it out since I opted for the buffet but a lot of the other people decided to go for it. It’s a giant burger complete with egg and bacon which my fiancee wasn’t able to finish even half, haha. And that’s how I ended up having a taste of the burger even if I didn’t order, hehe. It definitely tastes great but not to the point that I’d rave about it to everyone on Facebook.

Here’s a picture of one of our friends, Johann, trying to take a bite out of the giant thing.

By the way, their buffet is a bit tricky. You have unlimited trips to the buffet area which has pancit, rice, and a whole lot of assorted appetizers and desserts. However, you can only order to servings of grilled food which they’ll cook upon request. Buffet costs around P450 if memory serves me right.

Water Sports
Anvaya has the usual suspects when it comes to water sports: banana boat, the water bicycle thing, wind sailing, speed boat ride, jet ski, and everything else. I’ve always wanted to go around in a speed boat so I treated a few friends for a 1 hour trip (P2,000). It’s nothing like the movies! LOL.

At first it was fun. I loved the sea wind, the scenery, and definitely the company. However later on it became a bit boring and then it became almost horrifying, haha! The waves were getting stronger and stronger. There were several points when I thought we’d capsize! Also there were several points that the boat was so slow that it felt like I was riding a ferry boat more than a speed boat. By the way, when the waves were much stronger we kept on getting splashed by ridiculous amounts of salt water. I literally couldn’t taste anything but salt after the ride, haha!

Over-all I loved the entire trip. I might have skipped the speed boat part had I known that it wasn’t like what I saw on Baywatch (LOL). Thanks again to Pastor Larry and congratulations to Bu and Lyka for their engagement!


Sunsets by the beach with the one you love is always a beautiful experience

Posted in Travel Journal | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Tsunami Alert raised in the Philippines (Updated)

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Carlo Ople

(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 but this time not by rain but by a Tidal Wave.

Here’s an excerpt from the original article on Inquirer.Net. Apparently this has happened before and the Tsunamis actually hit the Philippines 24 hours after the earthquake in Chile. This means that we really shouldn’t be lax in the coming 24-48 hours.

The US Pacific Tsunami warning center issued a “widespread” tsunami warning for all Pacific nations.

A partial evacuation of Easter Island has been ordered in Chile in the face of possible big tidal waves, President Michelle Bachelet announced.

She also said two ships with aid had been dispatched to Robinson Crusoe Island, part of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, which has been affected by a big tidal wave.

Japan’s meteorological agency warned of a tsunami risk across large areas of the Pacific including as far away as the Antarctic, as the Philippines warned low-lying coastal areas to prepare for possible evacuation.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the tremor could generate a destructive tsunami that could hit coastlines on the eastern side of the archipelago.

“No evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation,” Phivolcs said in an advisory.

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum told the Inquirer that the issuance of the tsunami alert at 3:10 p.m. is standard operating procedure for the Phivolcs. “This is to remind the public that there was a strong earthquake in another part of the world that could cause a tsunami. It would be best for the public to be prepared.”

He added that in 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake hit Chile, the strongest recorded earthquake in history. That quake caused waves as high as six meters to reach the country 24 hours after the actual quake. “We cannot lower our guard here.”

Please do join me in prayer so that the Philippines may be spared from another disaster. :(

For my readers who live along the eastern coastline, please take extra caution and care.

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QC Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista should answer Mike Defensor’s allegations

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Carlo Ople

In a recent blogger event, QC Mayor candidate Mike Defensor laid out a strong challenge to Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista. He shared with us official documents showing that Herbert spent 30% of his 750M budget on food and drinks in the last 3 years. There were also waivers attached signed by Herbert saying that no inspection was needed to physically validate the orders. 30% of 750M is roughly 230M-240M pesos and that’s no small amount. That money could have gone a long way in rehabilitating government hospitals like the one in East Avenue (where I was operated on with no anesthetics).

Why does Herbert need to answer this
If Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista really did spend 30% of his budget on food and drinks, I’m afraid to entrust to the guy the 10-12 BILLION budget of Quezon City for 2010. That’s a huge amount and if he’s already shown that he can’t properly handle his budget then I have no idea how much of the 10B-12B will actually go into social services. Note that I’m not condemning Herbert now. What I want is for him to answer these serious allegations. There are just two questions:

1. Did you really spend 30% of your budget in the last year on food and drinks?
2. If yes, why?

I would like to take this opportunity to call out to any supporters, staff, or campaign teams of Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista. I am more than willing to organize a free blogger event for you to answer these allegations so that you also have a voice. Mike Defensor made a pretty convincing case against you and I won’t be surprised if the bloggers will be swayed to support him if you don’t speak up.

To Mike Defensor’s Team
I haven’t been following the case since day 1 and I wasn’t able to ask this during the blogger event but I’ll ask this now. Hopefully someone in Mike’s team will be able to read and answer on his behalf. If you already have a solid case against Herbert and you have the evidence to back it up, have you filed cases against him already? If yes, that’s great. If no… why?

mike defensor bloggers

Thank you to Mike Defensor and his family for inviting us into his home. Here’s to hoping that Herbert will do the same (kahit ‘wag sa bahay okay lang :P ).

Pictures courtesy of Rochelle Chua

Posted in Current Events, Herbert Bautista, Mike Defensor | 8 Comments

Magdalo Party endorses Villar-Roxas Tandem

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Carlo Ople

Detained Senator Antonio Trillanes’ Magdalo party was all set to endorse Senator Chiz Escudero as their President of choice a few months ago. Wednesday morning the Magdalo group revealed their new Presidential candidate: Senator Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party. For Vice-President though they didn’t opt to push for Senator Loren Legarda, instead they went for Liberal Party’s Senator Mar Roxas. This made me think about a possible Villar-Roxas scenario in 2010. Those two guys hate each other’s guts. I wonder what will happen if they end up as partners in steering this country forward should both of them win? That would definitely make things interesting.

Magdalo also endorsed the following Senatorial candidates:

Colonel Ariel Querubin (NP), Senators Pilar Juliana Cayetano (NP), Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (NP), Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada (Pwersa ng Masa), Susan Ople (NP), Gilbert Remulla (NP), Adel Tamano (NP), Brigadier General Danilo Lim (Liberal Party), Rep Ruffino Rozzano Biazon (LP), former Sen Vicente Sotto III (NPC), lawyer JV Bautista (PMP) and Jose de Venecia III (PMP).

I’m very happy to note that my auntie, Susan “Toots” Ople, is one of the senatorial candidates who was endorsed by Magdalo. In behalf of my family, let me just say thank you to Magdalo for their support. It was also cool to see another Senatorial candidate that I am actively campaigning for in their list – Liberal Party’s Ruffy Biazon.

Anyway, the Magdalo party has a nationwide membership of around 55,000. If you count their influence over their respective families and if ever they do decide to block vote, then you’re looking at voting base of 150,000-200,000. Let’s see which personalities in their list won’t make the cut come election day.

Posted in 2010 Presidential Elections, Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, Susan Toots Ople | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kapatiran Bet JC Delos Reyes concedes to Noynoy Aquino?

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Carlo Ople

Kapatiran Presidential bet JC Delos Reyes clashed with Liberal Party’s Senator Noynoy Aquino during a forum organized by the Businessmen from Business for Integrity and Stability of Our Nation 2020 (Bisyon 2020). Delos Reyes said that the Liberal Party should be more transparent, in which Aquino countered with his achievements in the senate. Delos Reyes did the unthinkable though by saying:

“Senator Aquino, there is a big chance that you will be the next president, based on the surveys. I want you to succeed.”

It looks like JC Delos Reyes is already throwing in the towel. I wonder how this will affect the rest of his partymates? Does this mean that he’s only doing this because he’s forced to run? If he believes in his heart that he has no chances and that he wants Noynoy to win, then he might as well withdraw for the race altogether.

Source

Posted in 2010 Presidential Elections | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

COMELEC needs a Marketing Director

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Carlo Ople

Just some thoughts I wanted to share re: the poll automation and COMELEC. In the past few months, the COMELEC has been taking a beating on the problems with poll automation. This issue has been at the spotlight of traditional and online media for the longest time and I haven’t heard anything good about it yet (Lol). Most of the issues that arise though are mostly driven by public perception and delayed deliverables on the partnership with SMARTMATIC. All of these problems, combined with their poorly made advertisements and information campaigns brings me to one solid conclusion. COMELEC needs a good Marketing Director. Whoever is doing their marketing sucks and needs to get axed… ASAP.

Remember the voter registration campaign they did? Yes, I’m talking about the one with the commissioner talking in monotone to the TV. That was really a bad ad. It definitely didn’t raise any interest. If ever there should be credit for the spike of registrations, it should go to PGMA. She angered the Filipino people enough to the point that it broke the apathy of the youth (haha!).

Barely a few months into the election, I’m still not seeing any major effort by the COMELEC to educate the voting public on how the automation will go. What’s interesting is that this herculean change in our voting process isn’t properly supported by marketing budget for information. If ever it does, then they definitely are doing a really bad job at it.

To Comelec: Go get a Marketing Director. And get one that’s top caliber. Someone who’s worked with multinationals and has a good concept of branding and product management.

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The Arroyo Virus

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Carlo Ople

If I were to name the biggest sin that the Arroyo administration has done it’s that they have singlehandedly corrupted and destroyed various institutions in the country. These are longstanding and proud institutions which used to enjoy the trust of the people. But now their credibility is in the dumps. Everything PGMA touches, it crumbles into ashes because people automatically lose trust in that department or group. This is by far PGMA’s worst crime to the Filipino people and I hope that the next President will be able to at least help bring back that trust to these institutions.

COMELEC
The body that supposedly guards our right to vote is no longer trusted as well. Because of her phone call to Garci and her national public apology, the COMELEC was forever damned. When people say COMELEC, there’s no longer a feeling of security or trust. All you have is this dreadful notion that your vote is useless because COMELEC will rig it in favor of whoever has the biggest amount of money in their wallet. All of this happened because of PGMA’s call to Garci several years ago.

Congress: Representatives of the people or PGMA?
The most obvious is the House of Representatives. PGMA does not give out the allocated Pork Barrel to congressmen in the opposition. This means that without money, these congressmen will not have funds to do projects in their local districts. Come election time, they won’t get the votes of their constituents because they practically weren’t able to do anything because of the lack of money. Malacanang literally has congress on their knees. Because of this people who deserve to get investigated and punished in the lower house get a free pass. Whatever the President wants, she gets.

Supreme Court
A recent show of her deadly touch is the selection of the next Supreme Court justice. Personally I think she should just wait for the next administration to appoint because if she does push through with her plans to put someone there it would just put a total cloud of doubt and suspicion on the last remaining institution which has stood firm against the advances of the Palace. That would truly be a sad day indeed.

What’s alarming is that even if PGMA is stepping down, she still wants to be a major player in the political landscape. She’s most likely going to win for Congress. There’s a big chance she’ll be the next Speaker of the House. What then? If she has the numbers she can actually impeach the President.

Last, but not least, it looks like the virus is also passed on genetically. PGMA’s son, Mikey Arroyo, is planning to run for Congress again via the Party List system. How the hell does Mikey Arroyo represent any marginalized sector in the country? If this ever comes to pass then I don’t think anyone will appreciate the Party List system anymore.

I can’t imagine how challenging it will be for the next President to face a congress led by PGMA.

Posted in 2010 Presidential Elections, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Blackmailing Presidential Candidates

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Carlo Ople

I was reading an article today about how a certain organization felt “snubbed” that only one Presidential candidate was able to show up for their conference. One of the representatives of the organization then goes on to explain that their group has tremendous influence and therefore have a multiplier effect when it comes to potential votes. I think their statements and “threats” are plausible, but they are done in bad taste.

Insane Schedules
Having joined several political election campaigns already, I can tell you that it is really hard managing the schedule of a candidate. When it’s election season, everyone wants a piece of them, especially if they are running for a national post. Other than the forum invitations, these candidates also have to attend sorties and a barrage of other activities that will reach a large audience. The campaign time is finite and they have to make the most of every minute that they have. Candidates have responsibilities to their party, family, church, and industry. We can’t expect them to always be there for events.

Granted that you do have a sizeable group, if the candidate doesn’t attend it’s their loss. There’s no need to flaunt it to the media by flexing your organization muscles. It’s just unethical to do so.
What happens is something like this:

Dear Mr. Candidate,

We’d like to invite you to be a speaker in our event. You will be talking about how you will address the following issues: poverty, debt, social costs, etc.

Thank you and we look forward to your reply!

PS: If you don’t go we will complain to the media. ;)

Whut!?

Always remember that this is not mandatory for them.

It’s the Candidate’s fault when…
However, candidates also make mistakes. One of the usual I keep hearing about is that their office sends a reply saying that they will be present during the event but they suddenly back out at the last minute. Now that’s rude. If ever they do this to you, then by all means complain.

If the machinery of the candidate can handle simple scheduling, what more when he or she becomes the President? When you say yes, move heaven and earth to make sure you’re there because people will hope and expect to see you at the event.

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Money lies, scams, and false promises

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Carlo Ople

Network Marketing and Direct Selling are huge businesses here in the Philippines. People make a lot of money here and I can’t count how many times I’ve been invited by friends and total strangers to join. I can still remember being dragged by a close buddy of mine to a supposed “gimmick” only to find myself in a seminar for one network marketing company selling skin treatments. Suffice to say that friend of mine had to treat me to Saisaki because if he didn’t I would have piledrivered him to hell and back.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Network Marketing
First, let me just say for the record that there’s nothing really wrong with Network Marketing, especially if the products being sold are actually good quality. In fact I did some selling before (but didn’t really recruit) for one company which sold meal replacements for weight loss. However they do cross the line sometimes when they give their recruitment pitches. I’m not just talking about the company sponsored pitches, this is also for the individuals who aggressively try to recruit. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that some people and companies peddle half-truths, lies, scams, and even use the names of popular finance authors and gurus so that they can just get you to sign-up. This is a practice that I detest to the high heavens.

Allow me this chance to debunk most of the stupidity that some people force on you during pitches.

Recruitment Lie #1: Rich Dad, Poor Dad book author Robert Kiyosaki’s “Leverage Principle”
In order to join a network marketing company, you usually have to pay some sort of up front fee for the initial batch of products which you will be selling. It’s your investment. If you can really afford it, then by all means go ahead and invest and try your luck. However one annoying piece of advice that I got from one recruiter was that he told me to use the “leverage” principle of Robert Kiyosaki. He told me to borrow money from relatives or even from financial institutions so that I can initially fund my “bright future”.

You only “leverage” when you’ve really studied the business opportunity and you are not going to be buried in debt afterwards, especially if you’re having trouble making ends meet. Here’s a fundamental truth: not everyone succeeds in network marketing. Don’t hastily borrow money to sign-up just because you really got sold on the pitch. Study the product. Is it really something that can sell? Do you have an immediate market that you can sell to? Make sound business decisions based on logic, not on emotion.

Don’t shell out money because they’re selling you a “better life”. You’re buying products that you will have to sell. Make sure you can sell them because you’ll just end up in debt if you don’t.

Recruitment Lie #2: Education is useless. Quit school and work for us instead.
Now this merits a dropkick.

drop kick bitch Pictures, Images and Photos

This is by far the worst advice I’ve ever heard in my life. To confirm this is being said, just go to the recruitment talks. Let me go back to what I said earlier – NOT EVERYONE SUCCEEDS IN NETWORK MARKETING. So if you quit school, there’s a big chance you probably won’t go back. You are literally throwing away a more secure future for a very big risk. Education doesn’t guarantee you financial abundance, but it’s one hell of a safety net that you can always fall back to. Finish your studies first guys. Mahiya naman kayo sa magulang ninyo. Nagpapakhirap sila magtrabaho para paaralin kayo tapos aalis kayo dahil lang may nakita kayong pwedeng pagkakitaan?

Yes, there will be people who make millions in projects like this but don’t think that it’s easy and that it’s something everyone can do. This is really hard work and it’s actually quite a toxic business because a lot of network marketers get a bad rep because they try to recruit everyone around them too aggressively.

If you believe in the product and in your heart you know you have a market to sell to, then go ahead. If you have the extra money to invest, then do so. But if you will have to put yourself in debt and you’re not too sure about the prospects, please think twice.

And lastly, to students reading this: FINISH SCHOOL FIRST. Don’t take that risk. You need the safety net, now more than ever. Or else you will get powerbombed by life.

Powerbomb Pictures, Images and Photos

Posted in Current Events | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments